What Do You See?

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."

-- Author unknown.

What do you see when you look at a medical report you have just transcribed? Does everything look accurate? Sometimes first appearances can be deceptive.

While I was completing my online Comprehensive Medical Transcription course from the University of Central Oklahoma, I learned a very useful trick for viewing what I had transcribed with a new pair of eyes. Listening to the dictation a second time while carefully proofreading makes errors in word usage stand out like red flags. I realize that the experienced MTs reading my posts will already know this. However, if you are still in training or new to the field, this trick might make a difference for you.

One of my professional goals is to help educate other MTs while I continue to learn more myself. I have found that no matter how much knowledge I have gained, there will always be far more to obtain. Experience is often one of the best teachers, so I hope to broaden my field of view by learning from the experiences of others as well.

Quality Care Reporting

Value-based purchasing is a concept that might be seen more and more in the near future from health care providers. P.Q.R.I., or Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, is a program established by Medicare. During the summer, a federal law was established which provides a 1.5 percent pay incentive for physicians to report quality measures through this program.

As more physicians begin to utilize quality care reporting, it is estimated by researchers that an increased number of less-ill patients will be treated. This, in turn, could possibly be the next big breakthrough in health care as more serious illnesses are caught and prevented in the earlier stages. This turn of events might eventually bring about lower health care costs as patients are being treated before more costly treatments are needed to reestablish good health.

I hope everyone had a safe summer and a happy Labor Day! I am looking forward to resuming my medical transcription blog! I am going to be changing the format to a weekly review of events rather than daily postings.