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Apr 01, 2006
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Dictation guidelines & handicaps!
********************************************************
ADVERTISEMENT:
****************
WORLDTECH wishes you a rocking Poila Boishakh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications are invited for
1.. Proofreading positions at KOLKATA. Only those with more than two years
of experience and exposure to proofreading need apply. Selected candidates
will undergo three months' orientation at Hyderabad. Compensation linked to
merit and performance alone.
2.. Transcription positions at HYDERABAD. Only MTs with more than two
years experience in multispecialty work need apply.
Initial interviews for both positions will be held at KOLKATA in APRIL 2006.
Apply in confidence with a detailed resume e-mailed to:
contactus@...
********************************************************
Dear Friends,
Given the challenge the industry is facing and the poor compliance of ASTM
Standard E2344: Standard Guide for Data Capture through the Dictation
Process, commonly referred to as dictation guidelines, by Health Care
Professionals; the AAMT along with MTIA, declared that they would advocate
industry wide application of "handicaps" to dictators according to
predefined dictation guidelines; which would directly impact the
compensation of the MT/MTSO providing services.
"Garbage In, Garbage Out" said Ms Lucida Sans, FMTIA, director of Corporate
Communications with MTIA. "Physicians fail to acknowledge that the integrity
of the transcript is dependent on the integrity of the dictation", and
coined a new acronym - WYDIWYG - What you dictate is what you get!
The flooding of US market with poor quality dictation at cheap or below-cost
rates amounts to dumping, asserts Ms Estrangelo Edessa, FA, RMT.
Anti-Dumping Regulation provides for the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
She said they were proposing a weighted penalty for poor dictation (sub
standard raw material), such that transcription charges to yield a high
quality health care record from the same, were fixed at a minimum of 25
cents per 65 character line. Any attempt to circumvent this price grading on
the basis of dictation would be collectively opposed by the industry cartel, and
reported as dumping. She clarified that HMOs were most welcome to dump their
garbled dictation offshore at less than 25 cents per line, as according to
her, there was a 50:50 chance of getting back garbage, in any case. Moreover,
it was her personal opinion, that 70% of the poor quality dictation arose
from International Medical Graduates, and these should be sent to the
Physician's country of origin to aid easier comprehension of a language and
accentuation, which was quite funny to the US ear.
On being asked whether physicians would be assigned fixed "handicaps"
or it would on a "race-by-race" basis, excuse me ... delete that,
"dictation-by-dictation" basis, Ms Lucida Sans, FMTIA clarified with MTIA
that setting a quantifiable dictation standard was in progress and would soon
be published and made available to the Industry. In general, she said, vocal
variations within normal limits (accent, speed, articulation, volume) will
be considered minor handicaps and given a low point rating. She would
********************************************************
Dictation guidelines & handicaps!
********************************************************
ADVERTISEMENT:
****************
WORLDTECH wishes you a rocking Poila Boishakh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications are invited for
1.. Proofreading positions at KOLKATA. Only those with more than two years
of experience and exposure to proofreading need apply. Selected candidates
will undergo three months' orientation at Hyderabad. Compensation linked to
merit and performance alone.
2.. Transcription positions at HYDERABAD. Only MTs with more than two
years experience in multispecialty work need apply.
Initial interviews for both positions will be held at KOLKATA in APRIL 2006.
Apply in confidence with a detailed resume e-mailed to:
contactus@...
********************************************************
Dear Friends,
Given the challenge the industry is facing and the poor compliance of ASTM
Standard E2344: Standard Guide for Data Capture through the Dictation
Process, commonly referred to as dictation guidelines, by Health Care
Professionals; the AAMT along with MTIA, declared that they would advocate
industry wide application of "handicaps" to dictators according to
predefined dictation guidelines; which would directly impact the
compensation of the MT/MTSO providing services.
"Garbage In, Garbage Out" said Ms Lucida Sans, FMTIA, director of Corporate
Communications with MTIA. "Physicians fail to acknowledge that the integrity
of the transcript is dependent on the integrity of the dictation", and
coined a new acronym - WYDIWYG - What you dictate is what you get!
The flooding of US market with poor quality dictation at cheap or below-cost
rates amounts to dumping, asserts Ms Estrangelo Edessa, FA, RMT.
Anti-Dumping Regulation provides for the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
She said they were proposing a weighted penalty for poor dictation (sub
standard raw material), such that transcription charges to yield a high
quality health care record from the same, were fixed at a minimum of 25
cents per 65 character line. Any attempt to circumvent this price grading on
the basis of dictation would be collectively opposed by the industry cartel, and
reported as dumping. She clarified that HMOs were most welcome to dump their
garbled dictation offshore at less than 25 cents per line, as according to
her, there was a 50:50 chance of getting back garbage, in any case. Moreover,
it was her personal opinion, that 70% of the poor quality dictation arose
from International Medical Graduates, and these should be sent to the
Physician's country of origin to aid easier comprehension of a language and
accentuation, which was quite funny to the US ear.
On being asked whether physicians would be assigned fixed "handicaps"
or it would on a "race-by-race" basis, excuse me ... delete that,
"dictation-by-dictation" basis, Ms Lucida Sans, FMTIA clarified with MTIA
that setting a quantifiable dictation standard was in progress and would soon
be published and made available to the Industry. In general, she said, vocal
variations within normal limits (accent, speed, articulation, volume) will
be considered minor handicaps and given a low point rating. She would
however advise dictators to speak as if they were speaking to their senior
consultant or HOD on the other end of a telephone line, that would take care
of their speed and volume issues, without trying too hard. Dictating at the
speed at thought, however, would attract a handicap of 30 cents per line.
Environmental effects (background noise, equipment, general environmental
practices) would draw a higher negative rating. Occasional exchange of civilities
in passing might be acceptable by standards, so far they are occasional,
civil, and in passing. Stuffing substances into body orifices OR expelling
things from body orifices, whether biodegradable or not, are not pursuits to
be engaged in, concurrently while dictating. Physicians using the loo while
dictating and either not using the flush or not washing their hands will be
given a major negative grade. Expulsion of gases from any orifice may be
consultant or HOD on the other end of a telephone line, that would take care
of their speed and volume issues, without trying too hard. Dictating at the
speed at thought, however, would attract a handicap of 30 cents per line.
Environmental effects (background noise, equipment, general environmental
practices) would draw a higher negative rating. Occasional exchange of civilities
in passing might be acceptable by standards, so far they are occasional,
civil, and in passing. Stuffing substances into body orifices OR expelling
things from body orifices, whether biodegradable or not, are not pursuits to
be engaged in, concurrently while dictating. Physicians using the loo while
dictating and either not using the flush or not washing their hands will be
given a major negative grade. Expulsion of gases from any orifice may be
overlooked if the physician claims he is suffering from a disease process
and furnishes a certificate to back such, otherwise a major handicap awarded.
Physicians dictating while driving will be reported to the police as a risk to
others on the road. Dictations phoned from the airport will be reported to
Homeland Security. Dictation made in front of any third party - wife, kids,
another patient etc, will be reported under HIPAA. All the above will attract
35 cpl handicaps.
Content Flaws (terminology, grammar, completeness of information, style),
draw high negatives on the dictation handicap list. If the patient says they
take "peanutbutterballs," and the physician dictates "peanutbutterballs" as
a current medication - that's a serious content flaw - high handicap! If a
doctor attempts to spell a word (like "Smith" or "Jones"), reading from the
patient list, and spells it wrong - that's again a serious content flaw -
high handicap! When describing a wound filled with pus, the physician
describes it as PUSSY rather than purulent, you have other things on your
mind - a serious handicap indeed!! When listing a patient's discharge
diagnoses and medications, a dictating doctors cannot count from 1 to 10 -
unforgivable - high handicap!!! When a physician reads the label from the
pharmacy and still manages to misspell the name of a patient's medication -
that's reprehensible - he should voluntarily give up his degree!!!! The above
would attract handicap gradings between 35-50 cpl.
The dictators identified with critical errors would be further evaluated and
graded with a handicap as to their vocal variations, content flaws and
environment, and their efforts for specific improvement encouraged.
Content Flaws (terminology, grammar, completeness of information, style),
draw high negatives on the dictation handicap list. If the patient says they
take "peanutbutterballs," and the physician dictates "peanutbutterballs" as
a current medication - that's a serious content flaw - high handicap! If a
doctor attempts to spell a word (like "Smith" or "Jones"), reading from the
patient list, and spells it wrong - that's again a serious content flaw -
high handicap! When describing a wound filled with pus, the physician
describes it as PUSSY rather than purulent, you have other things on your
mind - a serious handicap indeed!! When listing a patient's discharge
diagnoses and medications, a dictating doctors cannot count from 1 to 10 -
unforgivable - high handicap!!! When a physician reads the label from the
pharmacy and still manages to misspell the name of a patient's medication -
that's reprehensible - he should voluntarily give up his degree!!!! The above
would attract handicap gradings between 35-50 cpl.
The dictators identified with critical errors would be further evaluated and
graded with a handicap as to their vocal variations, content flaws and
environment, and their efforts for specific improvement encouraged.
Handicap grading might be translated in billing as either a higher line rate
or a shorter line definition (40-50 character line), depending on the final
recommendations on the Dictation Standards Committee.
Only when Physicians understand that their indifference is going to affect their
bottom line, am I envisaging some significant change, Ms Estrangelo Edessa
bottom line, am I envisaging some significant change, Ms Estrangelo Edessa
stated. "Otherwise we will keep on getting poor quality dictation and be
expected to churn out high quality reports at slave rates. This has to stop,
and we say enough is enough".
AAMT is pleased to introduce and monitor these standards and methods
along with MTIA. With application of these standards, the risk of sentinel
events can be reduced thoroughly and consistently in the healthcare arena,
along with better and acceptable compensation for MTs.
Some interesting times ahead, what say??
Cheers!
Maj (Dr) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"
Note: With specific reference to this editorial, AAMT stands for Advanced Analytical Methods of Training and MTIA stands for Many Thanks In Anticipation, to the complete exclusion of any other definition of these acronyms.
********************************************************
NEWS AND VIEWS :
*****************
1) MTIA welcomes you to Chicago!
The 17th Annual MTIA Conference is one of the industry's most exciting
events. Offering three tracks: Best Business Practices, Industry Trends,
and Technology, MTIA's program will offers opportunities to learn how to
increase the bottom line, what is new in legislation and healthcare
regulations that will affect the way you run your business, what types of
technology is there to promote efficiency and cost effectiveness in your
business. There will also be an update on the Electronic Health Record.
Aside from top industry speakers, MTIA is offering an ambience in which you
can network, seek potential customers and/or business partners. Mark your
calendar for April 6-8, 2006, and we will see you in Chicago!
Register now:
http://www.mtia.com/associations/5147/files/2006_Reg_Form.doc
http://www.mtia.com/associations/5147/files/2006_Conference.mht
2) Nuance Closes Acquisition of Dictaphone
Nuance Communications, Inc. announced that it has closed its acquisition of
Dictaphone Corporation. This acquisition significantly accelerates Nuance's
strategy to automate manual transcription in healthcare, where an estimated
$15 billion is spent worldwide each year.
The acquisition of Dictaphone expands Nuance's product portfolio, market
reach and revenue streams within the large and rapidly growing healthcare
vertical and brings together the companies' strong partnerships with leading
electronic medical records (EMR) vendors, systems integrators and medical
transcription service organizations (MTSOs). In addition, the combination of
Dictaphone's large installed base and dedicated sales and service
organization with Nuance's established network of Dragon Dictation Solutions
VARs, positions Nuance to effectively serve the healthcare market through an
expansive portfolio of technologies and applications, and a deep set of
services and capabilities.
Under the terms of the agreement, net consideration for the transaction was
$359 million in cash, after accounting for all closing adjustments.
Concurrent with the closing of the acquisition, Nuance also closed a senior
secured debt facility from UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Citigroup and
Bank of America. The facility comprises a $355 million term loan and a $75
million revolving credit facility.
In order to address the significant opportunity in healthcare, Nuance also
announced that it has established the Dictaphone Healthcare Division. Rob
Schwager, former CEO of Dictaphone, will assume the role of division
president reporting to Paul Ricci and based in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Rob will be joined by several members of the Dictaphone management team to
comprise the leadership for this division and their knowledge and expertise
will help ensure customer, technology and operational continuity.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060331/20060331005396.html?.v=1
3) Training Offshore MTs
For starters, the candidate pool looks a little different. Consider the
average Acusis MT, for example: two-thirds have college degrees and
one-third are "post-degreed" with advanced medical, engineering degrees,
MBAs or they have training as pharmacists or lawyers, according to Ray Dyer,
vice president of marketing. He explained that Acusis has India operations
with its U.S. corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Spheris acquired Health-scribe, an MTSO with an in-house training program
that Roberts likened to M-TEC, Career Step or the Andrews School. Basic
training lasts 2 months, according to Roberts. "After that, graduates move
on to an advanced level of training that lasts between 18 to 20 weeks," he
added. Here, they learn about the technology they'll be utilizing as well as
account-specific information, all in a "non-live" environment. "And they're
also heavily tested throughout the process," he added.
Like Spheris' Indian operations, CBay is also site-based, meaning MTs
neither train nor work from home. Computers, software and other tools are
provided by the company, explained Linda J. O'Grady, vice president of
operations and client implementations. "We have a classroom set up in every
one of our production facilities and quality assurance centers, in addition
to training rooms where they have PCs and other tools available."
Because Acusis' only hires experienced MTs, they can focus less on basic
training. That's not to say knowledge and skill training isn't both rigorous
and structured.
"Once we hire a person, he/she goes through a Level A/Level B process," said
Dyer. "It's two levels of training that runs for 6 days. Level A involves an
organizational introduction to our vision, mission, goals, using live
presentation and audio visual tools, then we move on to the technical
introduction."
http://health-information.advanceweb.com/common/EditorialSearch/AViewer.aspx?AN=HI_05jun20_hip24.html&AD=06-20-2005
4) Precyse Solutions and M*Modal Partner in Providing Medical Documentation
Services
Precyse Solutions, a leading provider of Health Information Management (HIM)
services, and MultiModal Technologies (M*Modal), a leader in on-demand
conversational documentation services (CDS), have signed an agreement to
offer their combined services to Precyse's transcription services clients.
The union of the two companies' unique technologies and services has the
potential to directly enhance the work product of a hospital's transcription
department and improve numerous back- office administrative and billing
functions as well.
Jeff Levitt, Chairman, CEO and founder of Precyse Solutions, explains how
the relationship was formed, "From mid 2000, Precyse supported various
speech recognition products. We found that these products turned out to be
unpredictable and unreliable and so we disabled all speech recognition
functions from our offerings in 2001. However, we always knew we had to find
a technology that would offer our clients a 2x improvement over what we had
experienced and what was generally available in the market. In 2004 we
commenced an exhaustive search and found M*Modal. We were very pleased that
they passed all of our internal requirements and outperformed every other
solution we evaluated. The technology is engineered so solidly and so
scientifically that we don't believe that anyone in the market today can
match their outcomes."
Precyse clients will be able to take advantage of M*Modal's AnyModal(TM) CDS
technology services platform in concert with the powerful PrecyseNet(TM)
workflow engine. With this combined offering Precyse clients will be able to
leverage scalable transcription and remote coding technology that utilizes
M*Modal's speech recognition and understanding technology to efficiently
translate dictation recordings into structured and encoded documents. The
unmatched accuracy and completeness of these outcomes results from a tight
coupling of M*Modal's unique speech understanding services, its editing and
rendering tools with the workflow management and routing technology and
management reporting capabilities offered by Precyse.
http://sys-con.com/read/198420.htm
5) JC Data Solutions to Provide Document Management Services to Surgical Notes,
Inc.
JC Data Solutions, Inc., a Manufacturer and Distributor of document
management systems, announced that it will be a major provider of Electronic
Document Management Services (EDMS) for the customers of Surgical Notes,
Inc; a preeminent nationwide provider of medical transcription, coding and
other value-added information services for the Ambulatory Surgery Center
market.
Commenting on the announcement, Jeff Blankinship, President of Surgical
Notes, Inc. said, "Because we have over 200 surgery centers and 6,000
physicians in over 36 states as our primary customers, we needed a
high-quality Document Management System to assist our physicians and
surgical centers with a one-stop solution for streamlining the collection
and distribution of vital information. We found JC Data Solutions'
innovative and cost-effective document management services to be the best
system currently available in the industry."
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/060328/0114938.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P. S. Would you like to share this newsletter with your friends
or post it on your site? Please do! But also be sure to read
below:
All original content of this newsletter is © Copyright 1998-2006
Mediweb Infotech Pvt. Ltd. All cited articles are copyright of
their authors and/or respective publications. Please feel free to
share this newsletter with your friends or post it on your site
as long as it is left intact with all links unchanged and this
notice.
Thank you for your interest in MT India!
The MTIndia Team
----------------------------------------------------------------
Please DO NOT reply to this mail id to unsubscribe
NEWS AND VIEWS :
*****************
1) MTIA welcomes you to Chicago!
The 17th Annual MTIA Conference is one of the industry's most exciting
events. Offering three tracks: Best Business Practices, Industry Trends,
and Technology, MTIA's program will offers opportunities to learn how to
increase the bottom line, what is new in legislation and healthcare
regulations that will affect the way you run your business, what types of
technology is there to promote efficiency and cost effectiveness in your
business. There will also be an update on the Electronic Health Record.
Aside from top industry speakers, MTIA is offering an ambience in which you
can network, seek potential customers and/or business partners. Mark your
calendar for April 6-8, 2006, and we will see you in Chicago!
Register now:
http://www.mtia.com/associations/5147/files/2006_Reg_Form.doc
http://www.mtia.com/associations/5147/files/2006_Conference.mht
2) Nuance Closes Acquisition of Dictaphone
Nuance Communications, Inc. announced that it has closed its acquisition of
Dictaphone Corporation. This acquisition significantly accelerates Nuance's
strategy to automate manual transcription in healthcare, where an estimated
$15 billion is spent worldwide each year.
The acquisition of Dictaphone expands Nuance's product portfolio, market
reach and revenue streams within the large and rapidly growing healthcare
vertical and brings together the companies' strong partnerships with leading
electronic medical records (EMR) vendors, systems integrators and medical
transcription service organizations (MTSOs). In addition, the combination of
Dictaphone's large installed base and dedicated sales and service
organization with Nuance's established network of Dragon Dictation Solutions
VARs, positions Nuance to effectively serve the healthcare market through an
expansive portfolio of technologies and applications, and a deep set of
services and capabilities.
Under the terms of the agreement, net consideration for the transaction was
$359 million in cash, after accounting for all closing adjustments.
Concurrent with the closing of the acquisition, Nuance also closed a senior
secured debt facility from UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Citigroup and
Bank of America. The facility comprises a $355 million term loan and a $75
million revolving credit facility.
In order to address the significant opportunity in healthcare, Nuance also
announced that it has established the Dictaphone Healthcare Division. Rob
Schwager, former CEO of Dictaphone, will assume the role of division
president reporting to Paul Ricci and based in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Rob will be joined by several members of the Dictaphone management team to
comprise the leadership for this division and their knowledge and expertise
will help ensure customer, technology and operational continuity.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060331/20060331005396.html?.v=1
3) Training Offshore MTs
For starters, the candidate pool looks a little different. Consider the
average Acusis MT, for example: two-thirds have college degrees and
one-third are "post-degreed" with advanced medical, engineering degrees,
MBAs or they have training as pharmacists or lawyers, according to Ray Dyer,
vice president of marketing. He explained that Acusis has India operations
with its U.S. corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Spheris acquired Health-scribe, an MTSO with an in-house training program
that Roberts likened to M-TEC, Career Step or the Andrews School. Basic
training lasts 2 months, according to Roberts. "After that, graduates move
on to an advanced level of training that lasts between 18 to 20 weeks," he
added. Here, they learn about the technology they'll be utilizing as well as
account-specific information, all in a "non-live" environment. "And they're
also heavily tested throughout the process," he added.
Like Spheris' Indian operations, CBay is also site-based, meaning MTs
neither train nor work from home. Computers, software and other tools are
provided by the company, explained Linda J. O'Grady, vice president of
operations and client implementations. "We have a classroom set up in every
one of our production facilities and quality assurance centers, in addition
to training rooms where they have PCs and other tools available."
Because Acusis' only hires experienced MTs, they can focus less on basic
training. That's not to say knowledge and skill training isn't both rigorous
and structured.
"Once we hire a person, he/she goes through a Level A/Level B process," said
Dyer. "It's two levels of training that runs for 6 days. Level A involves an
organizational introduction to our vision, mission, goals, using live
presentation and audio visual tools, then we move on to the technical
introduction."
http://health-information.advanceweb.com/common/EditorialSearch/AViewer.aspx?AN=HI_05jun20_hip24.html&AD=06-20-2005
4) Precyse Solutions and M*Modal Partner in Providing Medical Documentation
Services
Precyse Solutions, a leading provider of Health Information Management (HIM)
services, and MultiModal Technologies (M*Modal), a leader in on-demand
conversational documentation services (CDS), have signed an agreement to
offer their combined services to Precyse's transcription services clients.
The union of the two companies' unique technologies and services has the
potential to directly enhance the work product of a hospital's transcription
department and improve numerous back- office administrative and billing
functions as well.
Jeff Levitt, Chairman, CEO and founder of Precyse Solutions, explains how
the relationship was formed, "From mid 2000, Precyse supported various
speech recognition products. We found that these products turned out to be
unpredictable and unreliable and so we disabled all speech recognition
functions from our offerings in 2001. However, we always knew we had to find
a technology that would offer our clients a 2x improvement over what we had
experienced and what was generally available in the market. In 2004 we
commenced an exhaustive search and found M*Modal. We were very pleased that
they passed all of our internal requirements and outperformed every other
solution we evaluated. The technology is engineered so solidly and so
scientifically that we don't believe that anyone in the market today can
match their outcomes."
Precyse clients will be able to take advantage of M*Modal's AnyModal(TM) CDS
technology services platform in concert with the powerful PrecyseNet(TM)
workflow engine. With this combined offering Precyse clients will be able to
leverage scalable transcription and remote coding technology that utilizes
M*Modal's speech recognition and understanding technology to efficiently
translate dictation recordings into structured and encoded documents. The
unmatched accuracy and completeness of these outcomes results from a tight
coupling of M*Modal's unique speech understanding services, its editing and
rendering tools with the workflow management and routing technology and
management reporting capabilities offered by Precyse.
http://sys-con.com/read/198420.htm
5) JC Data Solutions to Provide Document Management Services to Surgical Notes,
Inc.
JC Data Solutions, Inc., a Manufacturer and Distributor of document
management systems, announced that it will be a major provider of Electronic
Document Management Services (EDMS) for the customers of Surgical Notes,
Inc; a preeminent nationwide provider of medical transcription, coding and
other value-added information services for the Ambulatory Surgery Center
market.
Commenting on the announcement, Jeff Blankinship, President of Surgical
Notes, Inc. said, "Because we have over 200 surgery centers and 6,000
physicians in over 36 states as our primary customers, we needed a
high-quality Document Management System to assist our physicians and
surgical centers with a one-stop solution for streamlining the collection
and distribution of vital information. We found JC Data Solutions'
innovative and cost-effective document management services to be the best
system currently available in the industry."
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/060328/0114938.html
P. S. Would you like to share this newsletter with your friends
or post it on your site? Please do! But also be sure to read
below:
All original content of this newsletter is © Copyright 1998-2006
Mediweb Infotech Pvt. Ltd. All cited articles are copyright of
their authors and/or respective publications. Please feel free to
share this newsletter with your friends or post it on your site
as long as it is left intact with all links unchanged and this
notice.
Thank you for your interest in MT India!
The MTIndia Team
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