According to the US Census Bureau, our nation opened almost 4 million single-person businesses between 2000 and 2005. Four million is a lot of people toiling away all day, every day, by themselves and they agree. At first freelancers, writers, designers, consultants, entrepreneurs of all types began gathering at coffee shops, laptops in hand looking for WiFi signals. The coffee house gave them a change of scenery and a bit of social interaction, maybe even some inspiration, but it was not enough.
Now these entrepreneurs are forming groups of co-workers. The goal is to provide a professional support network where people can work, share and interact with other professionals in a work-like atmosphere while still allowing them the freedom and independence they get from being self-employed. Co-working groups give single-person business owners people to bounce ideas off of, share work product with and ask help from. It provides the benefit of having co-workers without the corporate baggage that goes along with it.
If you work at home and feel that a co-working group might be beneficial for you, join one that already exists or start your own. Some groups charge an entrance fee and monthly dues. These fees are used to rent professional space and equip it with utilities, internet, work space, meeting rooms and hang out space. However, if you work from home, one of the perks you are enjoying is saving money and spending it again may not be in the budget. Alternately, these groups are often geared toward computer techs, web designers, consultants and other business to business professionals; they may not be the best fit for work at home moms who may have young children to care for or who may work in online retail or sales. If you can not find a co-working group that is right for you, start your own. It can even be as simple as a few moms who get together at someone’s house, with their kids, and brainstorm for ideas while the children play.
Whatever the nature of your group, co-working can bring much needed social interaction, professional support, and inspiration to work at home, alone, entrepreneurs.
Showing posts with label Work at Home Articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work at Home Articles. Show all posts
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
When People are not Supportive of your Work at Home Venture
Many people dream for years and years about working from home either in a telecommuting job or owning their own business. When you finally take the leap, you may be the only one happy for you.
I hear from people, mostly women, all the time who encounter a lot of negativity toward their working from home. This negativity comes from spouses, family members, former co-workers, friends, and neighbors. These attitudes are often generated from misunderstanding, jealousy, and fear. If you are to gain the support you need and want, it is vitally important to understand the other person’s point of view.
Those who misunderstand what you are doing will probably be the easiest to win over. Often when people think of work at home jobs the think of one of two things. Either they think you are not really working at all, and just being lazy, or they think you have been take by a scam artist. So simply sit down with these individuals and fully explain what it is you will be doing with your time, why it is legitimate, and how you and your family will benefit from it.
There is little you can do with someone who is jealous unless there is an opportunity for them to do the same thing you are doing. Even then, most often they will not take advantage of the opportunity due to their own fears and insecurities and will simply continue to be jealous of you. In this case, you will have to come to terms with it and realize it is their loss not yours.
Fear can be a very difficult emotion to overcome, but not impossible. Knowledge is the first step. People, especially spouses, may be fearful that you will fail and that you will succeed, imagine! The fear of your failure is pretty self evident and can only be overcome with time and planning. Fear of your failure will generally center around financial concerns. If you are working a telecommute job, you simply need to explain that you are still a true employee, working a real job that will pay you X number of dollars for X hours of work on a specific schedule. If you do not get paid on time, address this issue swiftly and decisively. If you are starting a business, this is where planning is crucial. You must have a back up plan. Know your finances, understand how much money you can and need to invest, how long you can commit to running your new business without receiving pay, and what will happen when time is up. Getting a new business setup and successful takes time and money. You must be in it for the long haul. So have a back up plan and exit strategy if you do not earn enough money. The fear of your success is a little trickier. A spouse may fear that you will become too successful and leave them when you no longer need their income. They may also worry that it will take over your life and home. If you become too involved in your business, will you still have enough time for the kids and your spouse? Will you need to carry inventory and take up space in the house that might currently be used for other purposes? The best way to overcome these fears is to talk them out, offer reassurances, and set up ground rules such as space allotment, “business hours”, and family time/date night.
Working from home can be a dream come true. It is exciting and challenging. You will need support from those who are closest to you. So work with their preconceived notions, fears and opinions in a kind and understanding manner and you will be able to help them understand and support what you are trying to do.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Organizing Your Time when you Work from Home
One challenge of working from home is keeping your time organized. It can be tempting to sit down and play with the kids or watch some TV and all of a sudden 1/2 your day is gone. Personally I don't keep any regular schedule other than getting my son off to school on time and being up for when the little girl I baby-sit is dropped off. I prioritize as I go based on what the kids and my various businesses need at the time. Despite that, I am very organized and the freedom works for me. It will not work for most people.
If you are not naturally prone to a schedule, regimenting your day into an hour by hour breakdown may be too strict for you. Alternately you may cling to an hourly schedule so strictly that when flexibility is needed, you won't know how to accommodate that.
My suggestion is a daily "to do" list. Write down all things you need to get done each week to maintain your business/job and your household/family. Then delegate them to individual days. Keep a "to do" list for each day of the week. On the list will be those things that get done on that day each week, but it also allow you to add to it when things pop up, such as appointments, or other unusual tasks.
For example:
Monday - pick up clutter & toys, vacuum/sweep and wash all floors, wash dishes, get children to/from school, make business calls (return messages, sales calls, etc.), pay bills
Tuesday - pick up clutter & toys, clean bathrooms, wash dishes, get children school, place online ads, do paperwork
Wednesday - pick up clutter & toys, dust, wash dishes, get children to/from school, network, connect with employees and/or team members
You get the idea.
Whatever method you, the key is to stay organized enough to achieve your goals and have a successful business.
If you are not naturally prone to a schedule, regimenting your day into an hour by hour breakdown may be too strict for you. Alternately you may cling to an hourly schedule so strictly that when flexibility is needed, you won't know how to accommodate that.
My suggestion is a daily "to do" list. Write down all things you need to get done each week to maintain your business/job and your household/family. Then delegate them to individual days. Keep a "to do" list for each day of the week. On the list will be those things that get done on that day each week, but it also allow you to add to it when things pop up, such as appointments, or other unusual tasks.
For example:
Monday - pick up clutter & toys, vacuum/sweep and wash all floors, wash dishes, get children to/from school, make business calls (return messages, sales calls, etc.), pay bills
Tuesday - pick up clutter & toys, clean bathrooms, wash dishes, get children school, place online ads, do paperwork
Wednesday - pick up clutter & toys, dust, wash dishes, get children to/from school, network, connect with employees and/or team members
You get the idea.
Whatever method you, the key is to stay organized enough to achieve your goals and have a successful business.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Medical Reports and the Foreign Language of Medicine
By Connie Limon
Techniques used by physicians to gather data for a diagnosis consists of two procedures known as:
• History Examination
• Physical Examination
Combined, these two make the physician report of “history and physical examination.” The history portion is the patient’s own description of his or her experiences, observations, symptoms or complaints of illness. The physical examination consists of a process whereby the physician seeks and observes objective changes and abnormalities, which are the signs of illness.
In a typical case, a skillfully obtained history provides a larger number of diagnostic clues that are more useful and specific than the actual physician’s physical examination.
To get the most out of your doctor visit, be well prepared with a thorough list or report describing your illness or ailment. I have written detailed reports for personal use, and granted, a physician may not always need such details as I have provided, but…..in one case in particular I think without my detailed report I would have not gotten the expert treatment as I eventually got. Sometimes, you have to really “jar” the minds of the physician to really get out of them the diagnosing and treating skills specific to your particular illness or ailment.
By definition, the physical examination includes those procedures performed directly by the physician as he relies on his own senses, with the aid of hand-held instruments. X-rays, laboratory studies, electrocardiography and electromyography, various scans or other techniques may eventually be absolutely essential to make a precise and accurate diagnosis. These are not considered part of the physical examination.
The word “diagnosis” in medicine is an interesting word to think about what it means. First, it is the intellectual process of analyzing, identifying, or explaining a disease. The diagnosis forms the subject matter and means the explanation proposed for a patient’s problems. Physicians speak about arriving at a diagnosis or of making a tentative diagnosis. So that the history and physical examination report is a physician’s report of his findings during the interview with a patient and his own examination with a goal of moving toward a diagnosis for this patient.
Upon dictating the history and physical report, the physician will include patient’s name, patient’s date of birth and other identification information such as hospital number or private practice number, etc. The medical transcriber must be very careful that he or she transcribes the patient identification information accurately.
The medical report of a thorough history and physical contains more negative than positive statements. This is due to the fact that a physician is not concerned only with compiling a list of abnormalities about the patient. He or she must establish a complete picture of the patient’s condition; therefore, he must also say what common or relevant symptoms and signs are not present.
The language of medicine is like a “foreign language” that a Medical Transcriptionist must learn as well. It is sort of like while in Rome, you must be like the Romans and speak and understand as the Romans. When transcribing medical dictation a Medical Transcriptionist is in the foreign land of “Medicine,” and he or she must or will learn the language of this foreign land.
The language in which a physician writes or dictates a history and physical contains many recurring terms, phrases, and formulas. Some of these terms and phrases are formal medical terminology, while others are highly informal, perhaps regional, institutional, or even individual, and do not appear in conventional medical reference books. For these types of phrases and terms, a Medical Transcriptionist usually learns them as she goes.
Of course, the History and Physical medical report is not the only medical document that a Medical Transcriptionist produces in the daily schedule of Medical Transcription. There are many more reports and much more to learning the language of medicine than meets the eye.
Formal education is definitely a “must” in today’s Medical Transcription work environment. You will to start your own personal library of books and references along with notebooks of these out-of-print types of words and phrases physicians use when they dictate.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription.
Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Reports-and-the-Foreign-Language-of-Medicine&id=645134
Techniques used by physicians to gather data for a diagnosis consists of two procedures known as:
• History Examination
• Physical Examination
Combined, these two make the physician report of “history and physical examination.” The history portion is the patient’s own description of his or her experiences, observations, symptoms or complaints of illness. The physical examination consists of a process whereby the physician seeks and observes objective changes and abnormalities, which are the signs of illness.
In a typical case, a skillfully obtained history provides a larger number of diagnostic clues that are more useful and specific than the actual physician’s physical examination.
To get the most out of your doctor visit, be well prepared with a thorough list or report describing your illness or ailment. I have written detailed reports for personal use, and granted, a physician may not always need such details as I have provided, but…..in one case in particular I think without my detailed report I would have not gotten the expert treatment as I eventually got. Sometimes, you have to really “jar” the minds of the physician to really get out of them the diagnosing and treating skills specific to your particular illness or ailment.
By definition, the physical examination includes those procedures performed directly by the physician as he relies on his own senses, with the aid of hand-held instruments. X-rays, laboratory studies, electrocardiography and electromyography, various scans or other techniques may eventually be absolutely essential to make a precise and accurate diagnosis. These are not considered part of the physical examination.
The word “diagnosis” in medicine is an interesting word to think about what it means. First, it is the intellectual process of analyzing, identifying, or explaining a disease. The diagnosis forms the subject matter and means the explanation proposed for a patient’s problems. Physicians speak about arriving at a diagnosis or of making a tentative diagnosis. So that the history and physical examination report is a physician’s report of his findings during the interview with a patient and his own examination with a goal of moving toward a diagnosis for this patient.
Upon dictating the history and physical report, the physician will include patient’s name, patient’s date of birth and other identification information such as hospital number or private practice number, etc. The medical transcriber must be very careful that he or she transcribes the patient identification information accurately.
The medical report of a thorough history and physical contains more negative than positive statements. This is due to the fact that a physician is not concerned only with compiling a list of abnormalities about the patient. He or she must establish a complete picture of the patient’s condition; therefore, he must also say what common or relevant symptoms and signs are not present.
The language of medicine is like a “foreign language” that a Medical Transcriptionist must learn as well. It is sort of like while in Rome, you must be like the Romans and speak and understand as the Romans. When transcribing medical dictation a Medical Transcriptionist is in the foreign land of “Medicine,” and he or she must or will learn the language of this foreign land.
The language in which a physician writes or dictates a history and physical contains many recurring terms, phrases, and formulas. Some of these terms and phrases are formal medical terminology, while others are highly informal, perhaps regional, institutional, or even individual, and do not appear in conventional medical reference books. For these types of phrases and terms, a Medical Transcriptionist usually learns them as she goes.
Of course, the History and Physical medical report is not the only medical document that a Medical Transcriptionist produces in the daily schedule of Medical Transcription. There are many more reports and much more to learning the language of medicine than meets the eye.
Formal education is definitely a “must” in today’s Medical Transcription work environment. You will to start your own personal library of books and references along with notebooks of these out-of-print types of words and phrases physicians use when they dictate.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription.
Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Reports-and-the-Foreign-Language-of-Medicine&id=645134
Friday, April 4, 2008
160 Things to Take to a Craft Show
By Susan West - 01/08/01
Are you looking for a concise list of things to take to a craft show with you? Here is a list that is broken down into easy to read categories.
For Professional Appearance:
Product/Packing Related:
All merchandise clearly priced (best done, before the show)
Any product information signs necessary
Boxes for purchases
Customer bags
Extra price tags
Hang tags & care instructions (as required)/ Price Tags
Inventory list/prices
String
Tissue or newspaper for fragile items
Literature:
Booth signs
Brochures
Business cards and holder
Catalogs
Company name sign
Flyers
Invitations to other shows/exhibits of your works
Media folder (in case of interview at show)
Portfolio
Referral sign - where else can they find your work
Retail order forms/price list
Show schedule to use as a bag stuffer & handouts
Special order forms - 2 part
Wholesale and/or retail special order forms
Wholesale order forms/price list
Office Supply Kit:
Clipboard and writing pad or notebook
Paper clips
Paper or index cards
Paper weight
Pens and pencils - red one for mark downs
Push pins & extra tacks
Rubber bands
Safety and/or straight pins
Scissors
Stapler and staples
Tape - scotch, masking, duct, packing
Sales Related:
800 authorization number for credit card authorization
Calculator
Cash box with change, ones, fives & tens or
Cash register & battery pack
Cell phone
Charge/credit slips
Credit card equipment (if you offer it)
Laptop
Receipt book/sales book
Sales tax chart
Miscellaneous:
Clear Paper Protector to hold the following:
Copy of your sales tax certificate of authority to hang in your booth
Correspondence with the promoter - directions, rules, regulations, phone notes, copy of canceled check, etc.
Copy of application with date sent and check number
Any notes about the show - pros or cons
Guest book- to develop a mailing list
3 Ring binder with all your show information in chronological order - this is great for sharing with other crafters
Rolling drawer unit to keep all office/sales/literature materials in; it's easily accessible and you never have to unpack
Tablet to record sales and mileage
Copy of this checklist
For Displays:
Tool Kit:
Glue for repairs - Elmer's, super glue, tacky
Hammer (to pound in spikes)
Hot glue gun
Knife
Nails
Needle nose pliers
Pliers
Screwdriver
Tacks
Tape measure
Touch up paintbrush
Wire cutters
Wrench
Display Props:
Carpeting or floor covering for size of booth
Chairs or stool with a back on it
Display aids
Backdrop
Folding screens
Grid displays
Pegboard and hooks
Plate display stands
Racks
Risers
Shelves
Wall units
Fabric draping for riser or shelf coverings
Folding tables
Music and tape player
Table clothes (clean & pressed) - to ground level
Tables
Display Hardware:
"C" Clamps (to secure a screen to a tabletop or sheeting to tent in case of rain
Bungee cords if you're outdoors
Canopy or tent & supplies
Extra weights or spikes
Fishing line (invisible hangers)
Opaque sheeting or drop clothes to cover display at overnight shows
Plastic tarps or sheeting in case of rain or overnight
Shims for table legs
Side-walls or tarps for overnight
Tape gun
Tie down ropes
Twist ties
Weights for holding display and tent down in the wind
Wire
Lighting:
3 or 4 extension cords- different lengths
3-to-2 adapters
Clip-on lights
Duct tape to tape the cord to the floor
Extension cord at least 50'
Extra 40-60 watt light bulbs
Flashlight
Lamps
Multi-plug outlets
Power strip
Cleaning Supplies:
Clean cloth rags
Garbage bags
Glass cleaner
Other cleaners
Paper towels
Small hand vacuum
Small trash can
Demonstrating:
All materials/supplies for making your craft
All tools needed
Apron
Candy or cookies for shoppers and children
Free samples
Miscellaneous:
Baggies
Clothespins
Dolly or cart to transport stock to your booth
For Personal Comfort:
Clothing:
Change of clothes- anything can happen
Change of shoes
Extra socks
Inner soles for shoes
Food:
Cooler with drinks & food
Frozen bottle of water or juice
Gallon jugs of water can double as weights
High energy foods and juices
Napkins
Paper plates
Plastic utensils
Simple food - like crackers or cut-up vegetables that won't be a mess
Thermal mug
Thermos
Water bottle
Weather related
Battery operated fan
Bug spray
Jacket or sweater
Neck coolers
Pair of rainproof boots
Sun hat and/or sunglasses
Sun screen
Health related:
Aspirin and/or any medicines you may require for the day
Box of tissues
First aid kit (prescription drugs, bandages, first aid cream, anything needed for allergies)
Hand lotion
In case of emergency - phone numbers of family members
Appearance/Hygiene:
Deodorant
Lipstick
Make up kit
Toilet tissue (you never know)
Wet wipes
Miscellaneous:
Camera
Cushion for chair
Fix-it kit with needles
Paper towels
Steamer/Iron
© Copyright 2001 Susan West
Are you looking for a concise list of things to take to a craft show with you? Here is a list that is broken down into easy to read categories.
For Professional Appearance:
Product/Packing Related:
All merchandise clearly priced (best done, before the show)
Any product information signs necessary
Boxes for purchases
Customer bags
Extra price tags
Hang tags & care instructions (as required)/ Price Tags
Inventory list/prices
String
Tissue or newspaper for fragile items
Literature:
Booth signs
Brochures
Business cards and holder
Catalogs
Company name sign
Flyers
Invitations to other shows/exhibits of your works
Media folder (in case of interview at show)
Portfolio
Referral sign - where else can they find your work
Retail order forms/price list
Show schedule to use as a bag stuffer & handouts
Special order forms - 2 part
Wholesale and/or retail special order forms
Wholesale order forms/price list
Office Supply Kit:
Clipboard and writing pad or notebook
Paper clips
Paper or index cards
Paper weight
Pens and pencils - red one for mark downs
Push pins & extra tacks
Rubber bands
Safety and/or straight pins
Scissors
Stapler and staples
Tape - scotch, masking, duct, packing
Sales Related:
800 authorization number for credit card authorization
Calculator
Cash box with change, ones, fives & tens or
Cash register & battery pack
Cell phone
Charge/credit slips
Credit card equipment (if you offer it)
Laptop
Receipt book/sales book
Sales tax chart
Miscellaneous:
Clear Paper Protector to hold the following:
Copy of your sales tax certificate of authority to hang in your booth
Correspondence with the promoter - directions, rules, regulations, phone notes, copy of canceled check, etc.
Copy of application with date sent and check number
Any notes about the show - pros or cons
Guest book- to develop a mailing list
3 Ring binder with all your show information in chronological order - this is great for sharing with other crafters
Rolling drawer unit to keep all office/sales/literature materials in; it's easily accessible and you never have to unpack
Tablet to record sales and mileage
Copy of this checklist
For Displays:
Tool Kit:
Glue for repairs - Elmer's, super glue, tacky
Hammer (to pound in spikes)
Hot glue gun
Knife
Nails
Needle nose pliers
Pliers
Screwdriver
Tacks
Tape measure
Touch up paintbrush
Wire cutters
Wrench
Display Props:
Carpeting or floor covering for size of booth
Chairs or stool with a back on it
Display aids
Backdrop
Folding screens
Grid displays
Pegboard and hooks
Plate display stands
Racks
Risers
Shelves
Wall units
Fabric draping for riser or shelf coverings
Folding tables
Music and tape player
Table clothes (clean & pressed) - to ground level
Tables
Display Hardware:
"C" Clamps (to secure a screen to a tabletop or sheeting to tent in case of rain
Bungee cords if you're outdoors
Canopy or tent & supplies
Extra weights or spikes
Fishing line (invisible hangers)
Opaque sheeting or drop clothes to cover display at overnight shows
Plastic tarps or sheeting in case of rain or overnight
Shims for table legs
Side-walls or tarps for overnight
Tape gun
Tie down ropes
Twist ties
Weights for holding display and tent down in the wind
Wire
Lighting:
3 or 4 extension cords- different lengths
3-to-2 adapters
Clip-on lights
Duct tape to tape the cord to the floor
Extension cord at least 50'
Extra 40-60 watt light bulbs
Flashlight
Lamps
Multi-plug outlets
Power strip
Cleaning Supplies:
Clean cloth rags
Garbage bags
Glass cleaner
Other cleaners
Paper towels
Small hand vacuum
Small trash can
Demonstrating:
All materials/supplies for making your craft
All tools needed
Apron
Candy or cookies for shoppers and children
Free samples
Miscellaneous:
Baggies
Clothespins
Dolly or cart to transport stock to your booth
For Personal Comfort:
Clothing:
Change of clothes- anything can happen
Change of shoes
Extra socks
Inner soles for shoes
Food:
Cooler with drinks & food
Frozen bottle of water or juice
Gallon jugs of water can double as weights
High energy foods and juices
Napkins
Paper plates
Plastic utensils
Simple food - like crackers or cut-up vegetables that won't be a mess
Thermal mug
Thermos
Water bottle
Weather related
Battery operated fan
Bug spray
Jacket or sweater
Neck coolers
Pair of rainproof boots
Sun hat and/or sunglasses
Sun screen
Health related:
Aspirin and/or any medicines you may require for the day
Box of tissues
First aid kit (prescription drugs, bandages, first aid cream, anything needed for allergies)
Hand lotion
In case of emergency - phone numbers of family members
Appearance/Hygiene:
Deodorant
Lipstick
Make up kit
Toilet tissue (you never know)
Wet wipes
Miscellaneous:
Camera
Cushion for chair
Fix-it kit with needles
Paper towels
Steamer/Iron
© Copyright 2001 Susan West
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
How Do You Know You Need A VA?
Virtual Assistants (VAs) are mostly home-based entrepreneurs who assist with administrative support from their home offices. VAs work with other business owners to help them become more successful.
A VA can help you prioritize your day as well as the tasks needing your attention first and foremost. Those less important tasks can be delegated to a VA to complete thereby freeing you to handle important tasks in a timely manner without rushing at the last minute. VAs can also assist you in finishing aspects of your important tasks.
VAs can complete preliminary research, handle travel plans, order supplies, make reservations, update your databases, send out promotional materials as well as a variety of other tasks that help you spend more time delivering for your clients.
With a VA on your side, you now have a team player ready and willing to accomplish assigned tasks so you aren t overwhelmed by it all. You now have someone to assist you in getting the most out of your day.
An excellent VA can partner with you to help you make your business more efficient, so you can focus more on doing what you do best and remind you why you became a business owner.
Effective help to grow your business is available just by contacting a VA today. You can do a search for VAs today online to find one to help you with your needs. Why not let a VA help you today?
Name: Gazelle Simmons
Company: Admin Services
Phone: 678-423-3187
website: http://www.admnsrvcs.com/
Since 1998, I have been a Virtual Assistant specializing in data entry, presentations, word processing, database management, editing and proofreading services, mass mailings, thesis and manuscript processing as well as other clerical and secretarial services.
(This has been a free advertisement for my fellow work at home professionals. If you would like a free advertisement, please click here.)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Things to Consider When Choosing a Direct Sales Company
Direct Sales companies are the tried and true method of working from home. Some of the companies are brand new and others such as Avon, Tupperware and Mary Kay pioneered this industry over two decades ago. The premise of a direct sales company is to enlist Independent Sales Consultants to sell their products to friends and family and via home shows or home parties. The sales consultants earn commissions on the sales and sometimes other incentives like products, prizes and vacations. With hundreds, if not, thousands to choose from, how do you know which on is right for you?
Here are a few things to consider when making your choice:
- Find a product you love! You can not sell a product you would not use yourself. You can not successfully sell a product you can not stand behind and be enthusiastic about. Do not be afraid you will not find something you love, there are direct sales companies for cosmetics, skin care, bath and body, household items and decoration, food, jewelry, cleaning products, greeting cards, books, baby gear, clothing, and much more.
Check out the commission structure. Many companies offer a straightforward payment plan of something between 10% and 40% commission with the average being around 25%. Others have tiered programs that offer higher commission for higher sales volume. Some have multi-level programs that become vary complex. - Downline Sales. Most direct sales companies encourage you to build a team of sales professionals offer you a commission on their sales. This commission is generally around 10-15%. You might even be able to earn lesser commissions on indirect sales consultants, i.e. the people your team members recruit, or even their team members. So when researching the perfect direct sales company for you, be sure to ask about the downline structure and if it has multiple tiers. One word of warning, companies that offer multiple tiers of downline commission often offer you a lower commission on your own sales so that is an important difference to weigh out and determine exactly how you will benefit most.
Incentives. Other than your commission, you might be able to earn bonuses, prizes, free products and even trips. - Investment or Start Up Cost. If you have read anything about work from home programs, you have probably been well warned to stay away anyone who wants you pay an upfront fee. This is good advice if you understand what it means. Scams are when you are asked to pay a fee to apply for an hourly paid job, pay a fee for a package or start up kit that you never receive and many other sneaky and underhanded ideas. These scams are different from paying for a start up kit in a legitimate direct sales company. When you become an independent consultant for a direct sales company you are in essence starting your own business. And it is completely reasonable to be asked to make an investment in your new business. This investment can range from as little as $5 to as much as $1,000. On average the cost is between $100 and $200. The reason for this investment is two-fold. The benefit to the company is to help make sure that the people who sign up are serious about selling. The benefit to the new business owner is that you get products and business supplies that help you get up and running.
- Hidden Costs. Generally when you sign up with a direct sales company, you will do so under another consultant who becomes your team leader and mentor. They will be the one who helps you to understand the commission structure and other benefits and costs before you sign up. But always make sure you ask about hidden costs that you may incur other than the cost of the start up kit. For example, while some companies offer you a free website, most will charge extra if you want to make sales via a website. They may even charge an additional fee to allow your customers to pay via credit card. While your start up kit may include some business cards, catalogs and brochures, once those are gone you’ll need to purchase more. Find out what they charge. Other hidden costs come into play if you plan on selling via home parties. Do you need to carry stock or additional samples to display at the party? If your product consumable, such as food, you may need to pay for samples for each party. Another hidden cost involving parties is the hostess plan. The hostess plan is incentives offered to the hostess of the party to entice them to have the party in the first place. Sometimes the expenses of these incentives are paid for by the company, sometimes they are paid for by you, and sometimes they are split. All of these costs, while legitimate business expenses and tax deductible, will, none the less, affect your bottom line and earning potential.
- Quotas. Another way that some direct sales companies make sure you are serious is to impose quotas or purchase minimums. These may be monthly or quarterly. Make sure you are confident you’ll be able to meet these quotas and find out what happens if you do not.
- Payment. And of course, you’ll want to be clear on how you get paid and how often. Make sure to take into account how this payment method will affect your taxes too.
If you are interested in working from home, direct sales offers an affordable and potentially lucrative business choice for the determined, disciplined, self-starter.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Latest Medical Transcription Tools in the Year of 2008
By Connie Limon
The USB foot pedal and transcriber software is the latest in medical transcription industry technology. This of course replaces the desktop transcriber and floor foot pedal that used a cassette tape for recording and playing physician dictation. Headset with earphones is still used.
The minimum system requirements most employers prefer home based medical transcribers to operate are:
• Desktop or laptop PC running Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Medial Center Edition, XP Pro or VISTA
• Most employers prefer PCs. Future work environments and MT products may not support Macs.
• CD-RW drive or CD-Rom drive that is able to read CD-RW disks or DVD drives
• 128 RAM or higher
• Sound card – SoundBlaster compatible, 16-bit or higher
• Hard disk space – Minimum 250 MB hard disk space
• USB (Universal Serial Bus) port
• Single-prong headset (earphones)
• Computer with updated antivirus software is mandatory
The Medical Transcriptionist today will need to have a good understanding of MS word or Wordperfect word processing programs and basic computer skills.
Internet Access is required. Knowledge of email is required. An English dictionary is always a staple in the library of a Medical Transcriptionist.
Formal education either through distance and home study programs or on site Medical Transcription schools, business colleges and many Universities now offer full programs in Medical Transcription. Formal education is definitely an asset.
The basic admission requirements for most Medical Transcription Schools and programs include:
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Ability to work independently
• English comprehension
• Spelling and usage competency (spoken and written) equivalent to that of a high school graduate
• Intermediate word processing skills with ability to create, save, format, copy and paste documents
• Intermediate computer skills including ability to troubleshoot basic computer problems, install software, manage files, send and receive emails with attachments and utilize the Internet for research purposes
• Normal hearing acuity
Before you choose a school or home study program take note of whether or not they have a job placement program after graduation.
After formal training and throughout your career in Medical Transcription, you should continue your education through professional memberships and certifications. The Certified Medical Transcriptionist can be acquired through the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (formerly American Association for Medical Transcription or AAMT). Certification is achieved upon successful completion of their examination.
In addition to professional memberships and certification there is absolutely nothing like continuing to learn by actually “doing.” Everyday transcribing medical dictation is a new day of education in the field of Medical Transcription.
Where are the Employment Opportunities in Medical Transcription? They include:
• Hospitals and clinics
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Nursing homes
• Physician’s offices
• Visiting nurse services
• Home-based independents
• Surgical centers
• Hospice programs
• Rehabilitation centers
• Chiropractic centers
• Physical therapy groups
• Transcription services
• HMOs & PROs
• Dental Offices
You can expect to earn anywhere from $25,000 upwards depending upon the area in which you live, the sector you work in, the method of compensation, and your unique skills. An accurate and speedy Medical Transcriptionist can expect to earn an excellent income and the outlook for this profession continues to look extremely positive.
Technology will continue to create easier and more effective ways to work, however, I do not believe the human behind the equipment will ever be replaced. Medical transcription is probably here to stay and is a secure career choice.
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Latest-Medical-Transcription-Tools-in-the-Year-of-2007&id=646290
The USB foot pedal and transcriber software is the latest in medical transcription industry technology. This of course replaces the desktop transcriber and floor foot pedal that used a cassette tape for recording and playing physician dictation. Headset with earphones is still used.
The minimum system requirements most employers prefer home based medical transcribers to operate are:
• Desktop or laptop PC running Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Medial Center Edition, XP Pro or VISTA
• Most employers prefer PCs. Future work environments and MT products may not support Macs.
• CD-RW drive or CD-Rom drive that is able to read CD-RW disks or DVD drives
• 128 RAM or higher
• Sound card – SoundBlaster compatible, 16-bit or higher
• Hard disk space – Minimum 250 MB hard disk space
• USB (Universal Serial Bus) port
• Single-prong headset (earphones)
• Computer with updated antivirus software is mandatory
The Medical Transcriptionist today will need to have a good understanding of MS word or Wordperfect word processing programs and basic computer skills.
Internet Access is required. Knowledge of email is required. An English dictionary is always a staple in the library of a Medical Transcriptionist.
Formal education either through distance and home study programs or on site Medical Transcription schools, business colleges and many Universities now offer full programs in Medical Transcription. Formal education is definitely an asset.
The basic admission requirements for most Medical Transcription Schools and programs include:
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Ability to work independently
• English comprehension
• Spelling and usage competency (spoken and written) equivalent to that of a high school graduate
• Intermediate word processing skills with ability to create, save, format, copy and paste documents
• Intermediate computer skills including ability to troubleshoot basic computer problems, install software, manage files, send and receive emails with attachments and utilize the Internet for research purposes
• Normal hearing acuity
Before you choose a school or home study program take note of whether or not they have a job placement program after graduation.
After formal training and throughout your career in Medical Transcription, you should continue your education through professional memberships and certifications. The Certified Medical Transcriptionist can be acquired through the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (formerly American Association for Medical Transcription or AAMT). Certification is achieved upon successful completion of their examination.
In addition to professional memberships and certification there is absolutely nothing like continuing to learn by actually “doing.” Everyday transcribing medical dictation is a new day of education in the field of Medical Transcription.
Where are the Employment Opportunities in Medical Transcription? They include:
• Hospitals and clinics
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Nursing homes
• Physician’s offices
• Visiting nurse services
• Home-based independents
• Surgical centers
• Hospice programs
• Rehabilitation centers
• Chiropractic centers
• Physical therapy groups
• Transcription services
• HMOs & PROs
• Dental Offices
You can expect to earn anywhere from $25,000 upwards depending upon the area in which you live, the sector you work in, the method of compensation, and your unique skills. An accurate and speedy Medical Transcriptionist can expect to earn an excellent income and the outlook for this profession continues to look extremely positive.
Technology will continue to create easier and more effective ways to work, however, I do not believe the human behind the equipment will ever be replaced. Medical transcription is probably here to stay and is a secure career choice.
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Latest-Medical-Transcription-Tools-in-the-Year-of-2007&id=646290
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Medical Transcriptionist's Tools of the Trade
By Connie Limon
As the physician’s stethoscope, scalpel and tongue depressor, the medical transcriptionist’s tools of their trade are the typewriter, computer or word processor and the transcribing machine.
Over the past few decades of time the medical transcriptionist’s tools evolved into powerful, high efficiency productivity machines and devices. Let us take a look at the evolution of this equipment and “gasp” at just how far we have come.
The first typewriters appeared in the middle 1850s; however, it was not until much, much later that these machines were reliable for all clerical fields. The QWERTY keyboard (named because it had six keys just above the left hand’s home row) was designed to make it more difficult to type fast. Reason for this was to type fast during that time period meant jammed keys and wasted time.
I experienced some of these problems much later in history as I first learned to type on a manual Smith Corona typewriter. It was so frustrating to suddenly be stopped on the keyboard, all keys locked tight. I would have to manually free the keys to begin typing again.
At the ripe age of about 12 or 13, I was making some pretty good time, and that old model (about all we had even in those days) was rebelling against the speed demon that was at the control board. By the end of that summer I had taught myself to type at a speed of 80 to 90 w.p.m. on a manual typewriter, which was more than excellent.
An interesting piece of trivia may be appropriate right about here. The people who used these machines were called “typewriters.” Job descriptions appearing in 1910 newspapers listed more than 50 jobs for “typewriters who must be able to type 50 words per minute.” We now call the machines typewriters and the operators “typists.” However, the trend has continued to this day in that you will still see ads in local papers that refer to a need for medical transcribers rather than medical transcriptionists (MTs).
In the 1970’s we began to see a real change towards denoting MTs as a separate entity from the machines they use.
The next exciting step in technology was the IBM Selectric typewriter introduced in the early 1960s. It replaced the individual internal mechanical keys (the keys on my old portable Smith Corona that I had to manually un-stick to get started back on my quest to be the fastest typist that ever walked into a high school Typing I class in 1973. I actually accomplished that feat and for the duration of high school days earned the reputation of “Miss Expert Typist.” It was a rather nice position in that I often was called upon and gotten out of other classes to help with typing chores for various school projects. In high school at this time we all still had manual typewriters.
I was thrilled to find an IBM Selectric typewriter sitting on the desk at my first “real” job in typing. It was a breeze to use the IBM Selectric throughout the medical transcription test during that initial interview. I had been working out on all manuals. Speed was so much easier and never a jammed up key. I was in heaven!
The IBM Selectric typewriter had a spherical ball with all the necessary letters of the alphabet on it. The ball moved back and forth across the page, eliminating the need for the carriage, which also helped to increase speed. In 1972, the first of the self-correcting Selectric typewriters contained lift-off tape so that errors could be more quickly lifted off the page. Another reason to feel as though I was in heaven at this first job! Don’t think I did not take note of all these wonderful changes in the typewriter. I was overjoyed. No carbon paper either. This place had a full size Xerox copier. I was in love, believe me. I arrived at this built just for Connie office in 1979.
Ah, but there is more. In the late 1970s the electronic typewriter was introduced and was the forerunner to the word processing machines of today. My first electronic typewriter was a spanking brand new “Sharp” model. I soon forgot about my dear old friend, the IBM Selectric typewriter. This Sharp electronic typewriter was even better! Oh my God, speed and ease of typing was greatly improved. On clinic days, I could churn out those authorizations for payment about as quickly as the old Nuns layed the note on my desk. I had a good handle on things in that front office, still having a few problems answering the phone, but at the keyboard I was a real “pro.” I did have to use that messy carbon paper while typing the authorization for payment. There had to be 3 copies and an original, and no time to run to the copier each time I typed one.
Unfortunately the Crippled Children’s Clinic was reorganized through political powers and I never got any farther with technology than the Sharp electronic typewriter.
Real word processors and computers began to be available in the late 1970s. There was no real need in our clinic for these; however, we were introduced to some of the old “Wang” computer software programs. Those were a nightmare, and fortunately something that got tabled for our small office.
For MT’s in other organizations, they could input an entire page, check for errors, and then print that page, producing perfect pages and perfect carbons. Then the emphasis turned to personal computers (PCs) equipped with a variety of word processing software.
Another interesting bit of trivia about the evolution of a medical transcriptionist’s tools of the trade is that the machines used to record dictation can be traced back to Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph. President Warren Harding’s inaugural address was recorded, and through a relay system it was transcribed by a typist and sent to the major newspapers.
Of course since the 1970’s there have been many more advances in technology for the medical transcriptionist. I will talk about those in upcoming articles.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon. Visit http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ to learn more about the unique and wonderful profession of Medical Transcription. Sign up for our FREE newsletters about this career choice.
Visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint content for your websites, newsletters or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Medical-Transcriptionists-Tools-of-the-Trade&id=644587
As the physician’s stethoscope, scalpel and tongue depressor, the medical transcriptionist’s tools of their trade are the typewriter, computer or word processor and the transcribing machine.
Over the past few decades of time the medical transcriptionist’s tools evolved into powerful, high efficiency productivity machines and devices. Let us take a look at the evolution of this equipment and “gasp” at just how far we have come.
The first typewriters appeared in the middle 1850s; however, it was not until much, much later that these machines were reliable for all clerical fields. The QWERTY keyboard (named because it had six keys just above the left hand’s home row) was designed to make it more difficult to type fast. Reason for this was to type fast during that time period meant jammed keys and wasted time.
I experienced some of these problems much later in history as I first learned to type on a manual Smith Corona typewriter. It was so frustrating to suddenly be stopped on the keyboard, all keys locked tight. I would have to manually free the keys to begin typing again.
At the ripe age of about 12 or 13, I was making some pretty good time, and that old model (about all we had even in those days) was rebelling against the speed demon that was at the control board. By the end of that summer I had taught myself to type at a speed of 80 to 90 w.p.m. on a manual typewriter, which was more than excellent.
An interesting piece of trivia may be appropriate right about here. The people who used these machines were called “typewriters.” Job descriptions appearing in 1910 newspapers listed more than 50 jobs for “typewriters who must be able to type 50 words per minute.” We now call the machines typewriters and the operators “typists.” However, the trend has continued to this day in that you will still see ads in local papers that refer to a need for medical transcribers rather than medical transcriptionists (MTs).
In the 1970’s we began to see a real change towards denoting MTs as a separate entity from the machines they use.
The next exciting step in technology was the IBM Selectric typewriter introduced in the early 1960s. It replaced the individual internal mechanical keys (the keys on my old portable Smith Corona that I had to manually un-stick to get started back on my quest to be the fastest typist that ever walked into a high school Typing I class in 1973. I actually accomplished that feat and for the duration of high school days earned the reputation of “Miss Expert Typist.” It was a rather nice position in that I often was called upon and gotten out of other classes to help with typing chores for various school projects. In high school at this time we all still had manual typewriters.
I was thrilled to find an IBM Selectric typewriter sitting on the desk at my first “real” job in typing. It was a breeze to use the IBM Selectric throughout the medical transcription test during that initial interview. I had been working out on all manuals. Speed was so much easier and never a jammed up key. I was in heaven!
The IBM Selectric typewriter had a spherical ball with all the necessary letters of the alphabet on it. The ball moved back and forth across the page, eliminating the need for the carriage, which also helped to increase speed. In 1972, the first of the self-correcting Selectric typewriters contained lift-off tape so that errors could be more quickly lifted off the page. Another reason to feel as though I was in heaven at this first job! Don’t think I did not take note of all these wonderful changes in the typewriter. I was overjoyed. No carbon paper either. This place had a full size Xerox copier. I was in love, believe me. I arrived at this built just for Connie office in 1979.
Ah, but there is more. In the late 1970s the electronic typewriter was introduced and was the forerunner to the word processing machines of today. My first electronic typewriter was a spanking brand new “Sharp” model. I soon forgot about my dear old friend, the IBM Selectric typewriter. This Sharp electronic typewriter was even better! Oh my God, speed and ease of typing was greatly improved. On clinic days, I could churn out those authorizations for payment about as quickly as the old Nuns layed the note on my desk. I had a good handle on things in that front office, still having a few problems answering the phone, but at the keyboard I was a real “pro.” I did have to use that messy carbon paper while typing the authorization for payment. There had to be 3 copies and an original, and no time to run to the copier each time I typed one.
Unfortunately the Crippled Children’s Clinic was reorganized through political powers and I never got any farther with technology than the Sharp electronic typewriter.
Real word processors and computers began to be available in the late 1970s. There was no real need in our clinic for these; however, we were introduced to some of the old “Wang” computer software programs. Those were a nightmare, and fortunately something that got tabled for our small office.
For MT’s in other organizations, they could input an entire page, check for errors, and then print that page, producing perfect pages and perfect carbons. Then the emphasis turned to personal computers (PCs) equipped with a variety of word processing software.
Another interesting bit of trivia about the evolution of a medical transcriptionist’s tools of the trade is that the machines used to record dictation can be traced back to Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph. President Warren Harding’s inaugural address was recorded, and through a relay system it was transcribed by a typist and sent to the major newspapers.
Of course since the 1970’s there have been many more advances in technology for the medical transcriptionist. I will talk about those in upcoming articles.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon. Visit http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ to learn more about the unique and wonderful profession of Medical Transcription. Sign up for our FREE newsletters about this career choice.
Visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint content for your websites, newsletters or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Medical-Transcriptionists-Tools-of-the-Trade&id=644587
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Medicine Humor, Confidentiality, Home Business Medical Transcriptionists
By Connie Limon
There is “humor” in medicine. A medical transcriptionist should possess a lively sense of humor as he or she will hear much to laugh about in a typical day’s dictation. This type of humor is essential for remaining long term in the field of medical transcription. The comic relief afforded by the humor in medicine does not mean the transcriptionist is insensitive to the importance of the medical reports being transcribed. Laughter helps relieve stress in any profession or occupation and helps us to maintain a sense of balance and perspective.
If you have visited or been a part of a transcription office you most likely have seen a central “funny file” where the medical transcriptionists routinely note some of the misstatements, slips of the tongue and other bits of humor in medical dictation. Heaven forbid this to happen and remain a part of anyone’s medical record (excellent proofreading skills are essential), but sometimes the medical transcriptionist can produce some hilarious “funnies” as well, often called “bloopers.” Consider this one:
• The doctor dictates “senile cataract.” The Medical Transcriptionist mistakenly types: “penile cataract” instead. As she or he was happily typing along it truly sounded like “penile cataract” rather than “senile cataract.”
Of course, with skillful proofreading the mistake would be corrected, and the blooper would end up as an addition in the funny file. When coffee breaks roll around, this type of blooper provides a good laugh shared with colleagues. In fact, sharing a laugh with someone who understands the joke intensifies the fun of the error in dictation or transcription.
Now consider one such as this: A doctor dictated, “This is the second hospital admission for a 75-year-old white male who was found under the bed in his hotel room and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of the problem.” In an otherwise normal workday, suddenly this type of a sentence sounding through your ear plugs of the transcribing machine can be absolutely hilarious and even funnier if you have other medical transcriptionists to share it with on coffee breaks or lunchtime breaks. And once again, of course, the sentence had to be edited for final copy of the medical record.
Most physicians know they are not “perfect” and will appreciate the transcriptionist’s medical knowledge, alertness and editing ability. Physicians sometimes dictate half asleep, in the middle of the night or after 14 hours of a long and tedious surgery. They are counting on the medical transcriptionist to be alert and, if necessary, to correct their mistakes.
And, oh I forgot to mention about the physicians who eat while they dictate or chew gum. Yes, some do this! A physician’s dictation can sometimes be as difficult to decipher as their handwriting on prescriptions and physician orders. Sometimes I would think they delight in nothing more than writing the first initial of their name and then a long line afterwards either going up the page or down the page or in a wiggly fashion.
In my first job I transcribed dictation from an orthopedist that could be quite “smart-mouthed” about anything and everything. He was an expert in his field and well respected.
In our office we had a procedure that if a doctor failed to dictate on a patient that was seen in his or her clinic, we had to place a note on the chart, asking the doctor to “try and remember” from that visit and dictate a note the next time he arrived at clinic, which could be a month later. I had the special opportunity to comply with this procedure with this one particular doctor.
I did dutifully as I was told and placed my note. At the end of the next clinic session, I will never forget his reply. Thank God he did not say it aloud to me! He wrote back on the same note saying: Dear Connie: Do you remember what you had for breakfast one month ago? I do not remember the details from this patient’s last visit here. Reschedule.
I might add here the other doctors dutifully complied with our request to dictate “something.” In the end, I concluded he actually was sweeter to me about this than his reputation with others had been. He was known to have very little patience with secretaries, clerical staff and medical transcriptionist. This incident has remained in my personal “funny file” for decades, I still laugh about this. He was a little bitty short man about my height with dark hair, quite handsome.
Actually I did remember what I had for breakfast because it was the same every morning. Obviously he had more choices than I did. I never had the opportunity to respond.
Medical Transcriptionist today can work in a variety of settings. Many are finding it mandatory to move into offices of their homes as hospitals and facilities find it is more cost-effective to do so.
Medical transcribers can also set up a home business with a select few or as many accounts as they can handle.
However, working alone is not always as ideal as you might think. You miss out on a lot, but then again, you can also gain a lot with no driving time and expense. There are pros and cons to both types of work environments.
If you find yourself in business alone or your facility has moved your medical transcription office inside your home, you can still find ways to share with other colleagues the little funnies you encounter during your work schedule.
Just remember the confidentiality rules and never discuss specific details or give the names of those patients who had bloopers (you caught and fixed).
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon. Visit http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ to learn more about the unique and wonderful profession of Medical Transcription. Sign up for our FREE newsletters about this career choice. Visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint content for your websites, newsletters or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medicine-Humor,-Confidentiality,-Home-Business-Medical-Transcriptionists&id=644512
There is “humor” in medicine. A medical transcriptionist should possess a lively sense of humor as he or she will hear much to laugh about in a typical day’s dictation. This type of humor is essential for remaining long term in the field of medical transcription. The comic relief afforded by the humor in medicine does not mean the transcriptionist is insensitive to the importance of the medical reports being transcribed. Laughter helps relieve stress in any profession or occupation and helps us to maintain a sense of balance and perspective.
If you have visited or been a part of a transcription office you most likely have seen a central “funny file” where the medical transcriptionists routinely note some of the misstatements, slips of the tongue and other bits of humor in medical dictation. Heaven forbid this to happen and remain a part of anyone’s medical record (excellent proofreading skills are essential), but sometimes the medical transcriptionist can produce some hilarious “funnies” as well, often called “bloopers.” Consider this one:
• The doctor dictates “senile cataract.” The Medical Transcriptionist mistakenly types: “penile cataract” instead. As she or he was happily typing along it truly sounded like “penile cataract” rather than “senile cataract.”
Of course, with skillful proofreading the mistake would be corrected, and the blooper would end up as an addition in the funny file. When coffee breaks roll around, this type of blooper provides a good laugh shared with colleagues. In fact, sharing a laugh with someone who understands the joke intensifies the fun of the error in dictation or transcription.
Now consider one such as this: A doctor dictated, “This is the second hospital admission for a 75-year-old white male who was found under the bed in his hotel room and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of the problem.” In an otherwise normal workday, suddenly this type of a sentence sounding through your ear plugs of the transcribing machine can be absolutely hilarious and even funnier if you have other medical transcriptionists to share it with on coffee breaks or lunchtime breaks. And once again, of course, the sentence had to be edited for final copy of the medical record.
Most physicians know they are not “perfect” and will appreciate the transcriptionist’s medical knowledge, alertness and editing ability. Physicians sometimes dictate half asleep, in the middle of the night or after 14 hours of a long and tedious surgery. They are counting on the medical transcriptionist to be alert and, if necessary, to correct their mistakes.
And, oh I forgot to mention about the physicians who eat while they dictate or chew gum. Yes, some do this! A physician’s dictation can sometimes be as difficult to decipher as their handwriting on prescriptions and physician orders. Sometimes I would think they delight in nothing more than writing the first initial of their name and then a long line afterwards either going up the page or down the page or in a wiggly fashion.
In my first job I transcribed dictation from an orthopedist that could be quite “smart-mouthed” about anything and everything. He was an expert in his field and well respected.
In our office we had a procedure that if a doctor failed to dictate on a patient that was seen in his or her clinic, we had to place a note on the chart, asking the doctor to “try and remember” from that visit and dictate a note the next time he arrived at clinic, which could be a month later. I had the special opportunity to comply with this procedure with this one particular doctor.
I did dutifully as I was told and placed my note. At the end of the next clinic session, I will never forget his reply. Thank God he did not say it aloud to me! He wrote back on the same note saying: Dear Connie: Do you remember what you had for breakfast one month ago? I do not remember the details from this patient’s last visit here. Reschedule.
I might add here the other doctors dutifully complied with our request to dictate “something.” In the end, I concluded he actually was sweeter to me about this than his reputation with others had been. He was known to have very little patience with secretaries, clerical staff and medical transcriptionist. This incident has remained in my personal “funny file” for decades, I still laugh about this. He was a little bitty short man about my height with dark hair, quite handsome.
Actually I did remember what I had for breakfast because it was the same every morning. Obviously he had more choices than I did. I never had the opportunity to respond.
Medical Transcriptionist today can work in a variety of settings. Many are finding it mandatory to move into offices of their homes as hospitals and facilities find it is more cost-effective to do so.
Medical transcribers can also set up a home business with a select few or as many accounts as they can handle.
However, working alone is not always as ideal as you might think. You miss out on a lot, but then again, you can also gain a lot with no driving time and expense. There are pros and cons to both types of work environments.
If you find yourself in business alone or your facility has moved your medical transcription office inside your home, you can still find ways to share with other colleagues the little funnies you encounter during your work schedule.
Just remember the confidentiality rules and never discuss specific details or give the names of those patients who had bloopers (you caught and fixed).
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon. Visit http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ to learn more about the unique and wonderful profession of Medical Transcription. Sign up for our FREE newsletters about this career choice. Visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint content for your websites, newsletters or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medicine-Humor,-Confidentiality,-Home-Business-Medical-Transcriptionists&id=644512
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Use of Pharmacology References in Medical Transcription
By Connie Limon
Drug reference books are an important resource in the library of a medical transcriptionist. In order to keep up to date on new drugs, a medical transcriptionist should purchase drug reference books every year or every other year.
Four important pharmacology references in the medical tanscriptionist’s library are:
1. Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
2. American Drug Index (ADI)
3. Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book
4. Understanding Pharmacology
It is very important that a medical transcriptionist be familiar with drugs, their indications and dosages as well as how to research new or unusual drug names in drug reference books. Elderly people especially sometimes take multiple, as many as ten or more medications per day. A wise medical transcriptionist will be sure to stay up-to-date. Familiarity with drugs and drug reference books will make transcription assignments much easier and will increase the rate of productivity, which is important if the medical transcription is being paid by line of transcription.
The pharmaceutical companies use three different names to describe a drug, they are:
• The chemical name (which is a complicated formula describing the drug’s molecular structure).
• The generic name (a shorter name assigned to the drug chemical)
• The trade or brand name (the copyrighted name selected by the pharmaceutical company)
The trade or brand name is easy to pronounce, and may indicate what the drug is used for or how often it is taken, and is selected for its appeal to prescribing physicians. A generic drug may have several trade names copyrighted by different manufacturers.
Rules to remember when transcribing drug names include:
• Generic drugs are always written in lowercase letters. Trade name drugs always start with a capital letter. Some trade name drugs will also have internal capitalization (such as pHisoHex). It is also important to note that the PDR contains only prescription drugs. There is a separate publication for nonprescription drugs. In addition, only drugs that the manufacturer pays to have listed in the PDR are included.
• Be alert to drug names that sound alike but their uses are completely different, such as Xanax used to treat anxiety and Zantac used to treat stomach ulcers
• Words such as tablet, capsule, solution, elixir and cream are not part of the trade name of a drug and should not be capitalized for use
The standard drug reference is the Physicians’ Desk Reference (published annually) and well known as the PDR. It contains various sections of drugs and is found in most physicians’ offices. Sections of the PDR of most interest to the medical transcriptionist are:
• Yellow pages (list generic names of drugs)
• Pink pages (list brand names of drugs)
• Blue pages (list therapeutic category
• White pages (give a complete description of the listed drugs including indications and dosages)
The American Drug Index (ADI) is another standard drug reference book. This is a comprehensive reference that lists both generic and trade name drugs and prescription and nonprescription drugs in alphabetical order throughout the reference book. It lists every drug name in all capital letters. Generic drugs are preceded by a small black dot to denote their difference from trade and brand name drugs. Trade name drugs list the name of the manufacturer to alert the medical transcriptionist that the drug is to be capitalized.
The Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book is a new drug reference book to be updated annually first published n 1992. It is an A to Z listing of medications with generic drugs in lowercase letters and trade names capitalized as the medical transcriptionist must type them. Each entry states briefly what the drug is for and the usual methods of administration. It has an appendix list of Sound Alikes, 879 pairs of drugs that sound enough alike to be confusing which serves as a special help to the medical transcriptionist.
Understanding Pharmacology is an easy-to-read textbook used in many pharmacology classes. Medical transcriptionists seeking a greater understanding of drugs and their uses may find it especially useful to include in their library as well.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Use-of-Pharmacology-References-in-Medical-Transcription&id=647532
Drug reference books are an important resource in the library of a medical transcriptionist. In order to keep up to date on new drugs, a medical transcriptionist should purchase drug reference books every year or every other year.
Four important pharmacology references in the medical tanscriptionist’s library are:
1. Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
2. American Drug Index (ADI)
3. Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book
4. Understanding Pharmacology
It is very important that a medical transcriptionist be familiar with drugs, their indications and dosages as well as how to research new or unusual drug names in drug reference books. Elderly people especially sometimes take multiple, as many as ten or more medications per day. A wise medical transcriptionist will be sure to stay up-to-date. Familiarity with drugs and drug reference books will make transcription assignments much easier and will increase the rate of productivity, which is important if the medical transcription is being paid by line of transcription.
The pharmaceutical companies use three different names to describe a drug, they are:
• The chemical name (which is a complicated formula describing the drug’s molecular structure).
• The generic name (a shorter name assigned to the drug chemical)
• The trade or brand name (the copyrighted name selected by the pharmaceutical company)
The trade or brand name is easy to pronounce, and may indicate what the drug is used for or how often it is taken, and is selected for its appeal to prescribing physicians. A generic drug may have several trade names copyrighted by different manufacturers.
Rules to remember when transcribing drug names include:
• Generic drugs are always written in lowercase letters. Trade name drugs always start with a capital letter. Some trade name drugs will also have internal capitalization (such as pHisoHex). It is also important to note that the PDR contains only prescription drugs. There is a separate publication for nonprescription drugs. In addition, only drugs that the manufacturer pays to have listed in the PDR are included.
• Be alert to drug names that sound alike but their uses are completely different, such as Xanax used to treat anxiety and Zantac used to treat stomach ulcers
• Words such as tablet, capsule, solution, elixir and cream are not part of the trade name of a drug and should not be capitalized for use
The standard drug reference is the Physicians’ Desk Reference (published annually) and well known as the PDR. It contains various sections of drugs and is found in most physicians’ offices. Sections of the PDR of most interest to the medical transcriptionist are:
• Yellow pages (list generic names of drugs)
• Pink pages (list brand names of drugs)
• Blue pages (list therapeutic category
• White pages (give a complete description of the listed drugs including indications and dosages)
The American Drug Index (ADI) is another standard drug reference book. This is a comprehensive reference that lists both generic and trade name drugs and prescription and nonprescription drugs in alphabetical order throughout the reference book. It lists every drug name in all capital letters. Generic drugs are preceded by a small black dot to denote their difference from trade and brand name drugs. Trade name drugs list the name of the manufacturer to alert the medical transcriptionist that the drug is to be capitalized.
The Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book is a new drug reference book to be updated annually first published n 1992. It is an A to Z listing of medications with generic drugs in lowercase letters and trade names capitalized as the medical transcriptionist must type them. Each entry states briefly what the drug is for and the usual methods of administration. It has an appendix list of Sound Alikes, 879 pairs of drugs that sound enough alike to be confusing which serves as a special help to the medical transcriptionist.
Understanding Pharmacology is an easy-to-read textbook used in many pharmacology classes. Medical transcriptionists seeking a greater understanding of drugs and their uses may find it especially useful to include in their library as well.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Use-of-Pharmacology-References-in-Medical-Transcription&id=647532
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Medical Transcipton - Transcribing Laboratory Tests
By Connie Limon
The number of new diagnostic laboratory tests has dramatically increased over the past decade or so. The complexity of the tests offered is also greater than ever before in medical history. This growth in the field of laboratory medicine is due to the demand by physicians for new and improved diagnostic procedures and the ever-expanding capacity of modern technology to meet this demand with more and more sophisticated laboratory methods and equipment.
A medical transcriptionist will come in contact with dictation on a daily basis that details results of laboratory tests performed on patients. The medical transcriptionist is required to transcribe the material with accuracy. It is extremely important for the medical transcriptionist to be familiar with the names and abbreviations of many laboratory tests, the reasons they are available to physicians, and the meaning of the lab results.
Hospital laboratories are equipped to handle hundreds of tests each day. Larger hospitals perform all standard laboratory tests, as well as uncommon tests, which may be required by a smaller hospital or clinic whose facilities are not equipped to handle unusual tests.
There are many brief forms, slang, and special terms associated with the blood. Brief forms are acceptable in medical reports, however, the medical transcriptionist should always spell out in full any slang words which are dictated. Examples are:
• Monos is an acceptable brief form that the physician may dictate. The medical transcriptionist should type monocytes.
• Lytes is a slang term the physician may use in dictation. The medical transcriptionist should type electrolytes.
Other common tests include:
• Hemoglobin and hematocrit: A physician may dictate H&H. The Medical Transcriptionist should type: Hemoglobin and hematocrit
• Low-density lipoproteins: A physician may dictate LDL. The Medical Transcriptionist should type: Low-density lipoproteins
Laboratory test results are measured and reported most often using the metric system. Transcribing laboratory tests presents unique challenges for the Medical Transcriptionist. Being able to correctly transcribe the name of a laboratory test or its abbreviation is just one step in the process. Numerical results must be transcribed with “absolute” accuracy with extra care taken to place decimal points accurately and to transcribe units of measure correctly.
A Medical Transcriptioniost should also have a firm grasp of why a test was ordered and what the results indicate. As a student of Medical Transcription, you will want to study with extra care the critical area of laboratory tests transcription diligently. The technology of medicine increases daily. Laboratory tests and procedures also increase on a daily basis. It is a real and extremely necessary challenge for the Medical Transcriptionist to stay up-to-date of these changes.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Transcipton---Transcribing-Laboratory-Tests&id=647721
The number of new diagnostic laboratory tests has dramatically increased over the past decade or so. The complexity of the tests offered is also greater than ever before in medical history. This growth in the field of laboratory medicine is due to the demand by physicians for new and improved diagnostic procedures and the ever-expanding capacity of modern technology to meet this demand with more and more sophisticated laboratory methods and equipment.
A medical transcriptionist will come in contact with dictation on a daily basis that details results of laboratory tests performed on patients. The medical transcriptionist is required to transcribe the material with accuracy. It is extremely important for the medical transcriptionist to be familiar with the names and abbreviations of many laboratory tests, the reasons they are available to physicians, and the meaning of the lab results.
Hospital laboratories are equipped to handle hundreds of tests each day. Larger hospitals perform all standard laboratory tests, as well as uncommon tests, which may be required by a smaller hospital or clinic whose facilities are not equipped to handle unusual tests.
There are many brief forms, slang, and special terms associated with the blood. Brief forms are acceptable in medical reports, however, the medical transcriptionist should always spell out in full any slang words which are dictated. Examples are:
• Monos is an acceptable brief form that the physician may dictate. The medical transcriptionist should type monocytes.
• Lytes is a slang term the physician may use in dictation. The medical transcriptionist should type electrolytes.
Other common tests include:
• Hemoglobin and hematocrit: A physician may dictate H&H. The Medical Transcriptionist should type: Hemoglobin and hematocrit
• Low-density lipoproteins: A physician may dictate LDL. The Medical Transcriptionist should type: Low-density lipoproteins
Laboratory test results are measured and reported most often using the metric system. Transcribing laboratory tests presents unique challenges for the Medical Transcriptionist. Being able to correctly transcribe the name of a laboratory test or its abbreviation is just one step in the process. Numerical results must be transcribed with “absolute” accuracy with extra care taken to place decimal points accurately and to transcribe units of measure correctly.
A Medical Transcriptioniost should also have a firm grasp of why a test was ordered and what the results indicate. As a student of Medical Transcription, you will want to study with extra care the critical area of laboratory tests transcription diligently. The technology of medicine increases daily. Laboratory tests and procedures also increase on a daily basis. It is a real and extremely necessary challenge for the Medical Transcriptionist to stay up-to-date of these changes.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Transcipton---Transcribing-Laboratory-Tests&id=647721
Friday, March 14, 2008
Types Of Medical Reports Medical Transcriptionist's Transcribe Part II
By Connie Limon
The History and Physical Examination (H&P) is generated shortly before or after a patient is admitted to the hospital. This report usually contains:
• Chief complaint or presenting problem
• History of present illness which are the events leading to the patient’s hospitalization
• Past medical history which is medical and surgical problems from childhood to the present, medications, and allergies
• Family History which is the medical condition of parents and other family members
• Social history which is the patient’s occupation, lifestyle, and habits
• Review of systems which is the medical condition of the patient’s major organs
• Physical examination
Emergency department reports are much like the initial office evaluation with the exception of the patient is seen and treated in an emergency department of a hospital or acute care clinic. Usually dictated are:
• Presenting complaint
• Present illness
• Physical examination
• Course of treatment
Consultation reports result when one physician requests the services of another, usually a specialist, in the care and treatment of a patient. The consultation report usually contains the sub headings of:
• Brief history of the present illness
• Findings
• Pertinent laboratory work
• Working diagnosis or impression
• Recommended course of treatment
A consultation report may be dictated in letter format and transcribed on physician office stationery or the medical facility or on preprinted consultation forms.
The operative report is generated after a surgical procedure is performed. It is a detailed description of the operation. Surgical procedures occur in:
• Hospitals
• Outpatient surgery centers
• Occasionally in physician’s office
The operative report usually begins with information obtained from:
• Written records
• Includes date of operation
• Includes duration of anesthesia and operation times
• Names of the operating surgeon and assistants
The actual dictation includes:
• Preoperative diagnosis
• Postoperative diagnosis
• Title of operation
• Findings
• Procedure
Dictation of the procedure includes:
• Detailed description of the operation itself
• Anatomic landmarks
• Surgical instruments used
• Suture materials used to close the incision
• Estimated blood loss
• Complications
• Condition of patient at end of procedure
• Sponge and needle count at end of procedure
• Tourniquet time if applicable
• Blood and fluids administered
• Drains placed
• Medications given
• Some surgeons will also dictate a postoperative plan
The discharge summary is generated when the patient is ready for discharge from the hospital. It is the medical report that summarizes the patient’s course in the hospital. Length of this medical report depends upon how long the patient remained in the hospital. Most discharge summaries include:
• A summary of the admission and discharge diagnoses
• Procedures or operations performed if any
• Brief review of the patient’s history
• Physician’s findings on physical examination
• A report of laboratory work performed and pertinent findings
• The patient’s hospital course
• Discharge medications
• Discharge plan or disposition
As you can see from Part I and Part II of Types of Medical Reports Medical Transcriptionists transcribe, they are very detailed and will utilize your love of words and medical references to the absolute maximum. They contain the foreign language of Medicine, which now has become the language of the Medical Transcriptionist as well.
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Types-Of-Medical-Reports-Medical-Transcriptionists-Transcribe-Part-II&id=651096
The History and Physical Examination (H&P) is generated shortly before or after a patient is admitted to the hospital. This report usually contains:
• Chief complaint or presenting problem
• History of present illness which are the events leading to the patient’s hospitalization
• Past medical history which is medical and surgical problems from childhood to the present, medications, and allergies
• Family History which is the medical condition of parents and other family members
• Social history which is the patient’s occupation, lifestyle, and habits
• Review of systems which is the medical condition of the patient’s major organs
• Physical examination
Emergency department reports are much like the initial office evaluation with the exception of the patient is seen and treated in an emergency department of a hospital or acute care clinic. Usually dictated are:
• Presenting complaint
• Present illness
• Physical examination
• Course of treatment
Consultation reports result when one physician requests the services of another, usually a specialist, in the care and treatment of a patient. The consultation report usually contains the sub headings of:
• Brief history of the present illness
• Findings
• Pertinent laboratory work
• Working diagnosis or impression
• Recommended course of treatment
A consultation report may be dictated in letter format and transcribed on physician office stationery or the medical facility or on preprinted consultation forms.
The operative report is generated after a surgical procedure is performed. It is a detailed description of the operation. Surgical procedures occur in:
• Hospitals
• Outpatient surgery centers
• Occasionally in physician’s office
The operative report usually begins with information obtained from:
• Written records
• Includes date of operation
• Includes duration of anesthesia and operation times
• Names of the operating surgeon and assistants
The actual dictation includes:
• Preoperative diagnosis
• Postoperative diagnosis
• Title of operation
• Findings
• Procedure
Dictation of the procedure includes:
• Detailed description of the operation itself
• Anatomic landmarks
• Surgical instruments used
• Suture materials used to close the incision
• Estimated blood loss
• Complications
• Condition of patient at end of procedure
• Sponge and needle count at end of procedure
• Tourniquet time if applicable
• Blood and fluids administered
• Drains placed
• Medications given
• Some surgeons will also dictate a postoperative plan
The discharge summary is generated when the patient is ready for discharge from the hospital. It is the medical report that summarizes the patient’s course in the hospital. Length of this medical report depends upon how long the patient remained in the hospital. Most discharge summaries include:
• A summary of the admission and discharge diagnoses
• Procedures or operations performed if any
• Brief review of the patient’s history
• Physician’s findings on physical examination
• A report of laboratory work performed and pertinent findings
• The patient’s hospital course
• Discharge medications
• Discharge plan or disposition
As you can see from Part I and Part II of Types of Medical Reports Medical Transcriptionists transcribe, they are very detailed and will utilize your love of words and medical references to the absolute maximum. They contain the foreign language of Medicine, which now has become the language of the Medical Transcriptionist as well.
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Types-Of-Medical-Reports-Medical-Transcriptionists-Transcribe-Part-II&id=651096
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Types of Medical Reports Medical Transcriptionist's Transcribe Part I
By Connie Limon
There are a variety of medical reports created every day in physician offices, clinics, and hospitals. A Medical Transcriptionist needs to be familiar with the medical reports dictated in each work setting.
Types of reports dictated in private physician practice include:
• Office chart notes
• Letters
• Initial office evaluations
• History and physical examinations
Types of reports dictated in hospitals and medical centers are numerous. The reports include dictations from a basic four which are:
• History and Physical Examinations
• Consultation Reports
• Operative Reports
• Discharge Summaries
In addition to the above reports emergency department reports, hospital progress notes and diagnostic studies are often also dictated.
The chart note is also called progress note or follow-up note is dictated by the physician after talking with, meeting with, or examining a patient usually in an outpatient setting. Progress notes or chart notes are also commonly dictated on hospital inpatients.
The chart note varies in length from one sentence to one or more pages and contains:
• A concise description of the patient’s presenting problem
• Physical findings
• Physician’s plan of treatment
• May also include laboratory tests results
Doctors use numerous formats for dictated chart notes. The SOAP format is common. SOAP stands for the headings of:
• Subjective
• Objective
• Assessment
• Plan
Physicians frequently dictate letters to communicate patient information to other physicians, insurance companies, and government offices. A Medical Transcriptionist will need to be familiar with the various standard business letter formats. Employers sometimes express a preference for a specific letter format. Most commonly used is the full-block format with the parts of the letter lined up on the left margin.
The initial office evaluation is dictated after the physician sees a patient for the first time and contains about the same information as the history and physical examination. However, a physical examination report in an initial office evaluation may be limited to specific areas of disease.
Continued in Part II
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Types-of-Medical-Reports-Medical-Transcriptionists-Transcribe-Part-I&id=650939
There are a variety of medical reports created every day in physician offices, clinics, and hospitals. A Medical Transcriptionist needs to be familiar with the medical reports dictated in each work setting.
Types of reports dictated in private physician practice include:
• Office chart notes
• Letters
• Initial office evaluations
• History and physical examinations
Types of reports dictated in hospitals and medical centers are numerous. The reports include dictations from a basic four which are:
• History and Physical Examinations
• Consultation Reports
• Operative Reports
• Discharge Summaries
In addition to the above reports emergency department reports, hospital progress notes and diagnostic studies are often also dictated.
The chart note is also called progress note or follow-up note is dictated by the physician after talking with, meeting with, or examining a patient usually in an outpatient setting. Progress notes or chart notes are also commonly dictated on hospital inpatients.
The chart note varies in length from one sentence to one or more pages and contains:
• A concise description of the patient’s presenting problem
• Physical findings
• Physician’s plan of treatment
• May also include laboratory tests results
Doctors use numerous formats for dictated chart notes. The SOAP format is common. SOAP stands for the headings of:
• Subjective
• Objective
• Assessment
• Plan
Physicians frequently dictate letters to communicate patient information to other physicians, insurance companies, and government offices. A Medical Transcriptionist will need to be familiar with the various standard business letter formats. Employers sometimes express a preference for a specific letter format. Most commonly used is the full-block format with the parts of the letter lined up on the left margin.
The initial office evaluation is dictated after the physician sees a patient for the first time and contains about the same information as the history and physical examination. However, a physical examination report in an initial office evaluation may be limited to specific areas of disease.
Continued in Part II
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Types-of-Medical-Reports-Medical-Transcriptionists-Transcribe-Part-I&id=650939
Home Party Door Prizes
One of the most exciting parts of attending a home party is the prospect of winning free stuff. I mean, common on, who doesn’t like free stuff? As a consultant, you need to figure these freebies into your business plan and expense account and not only because people like them. There are real benefits you can gain by offering gifts and door prizes.
A gift can be offered to a hostess to encourage attendance to her party. Put a special sticker on one of her invitations before you mail them out. Then tell her she needs to call all of her invites two days before the party to remind them to attend. When she calls she needs to find out who got the special sticker in order to win the prize. Alternately, you can offer her a gift if she gets a minimum number of people to attend.
Gifts for attendees can be used for anything from encouraging purchases and enticing party bookings, to entertainment. To encourage purchases, you can offer a prize to the person who orders the most or you can designate a “secret product” and the first person to order it wins. Entice party bookings by offering gifts to each booker or the first person to book. As entertainment, door prizes can be offered to the winner of a party game. One great party game is to have everyone fill out their contact information on a card that also has blocks to mark off to sign up for email newsletters, book a party or request information about being a consultant. Then put the cards in a basket and pick a winner. That way you gain something from having given away a prize.
The type of prizes you give away will depend on the product line you are selling. If you sell a line that has low cost items or sample sizes, then these items make an inexpensive way to offer gifts and further promote the products you are selling. Or if you sell more than one line of products, samples from a different line can be an unobtrusive way of letting people know you sell more than what is being presented that day. However, if your product line does not lend itself well to gifting then you’ll need to put in a little more thought. You could just pick up cheap votive candles at the store, but I would suggest trying to support other home based businesses whenever you have the chance. So if you want to offer candles, then contact a candle consultant and purchase some from her. Alternately, there is a company called Sample Gal (http://www.samplegal.com/members/wildrose/) that sells boxes of 10-15 samples from small and home based businesses. At $15.00 per box that is approximately $1.00 per sample, not a bad price. This will give you a variety of low cost prizes to offer your guests and help out other small and home based businesses in the process.
So gather up your prizes and shower them on your guests to promote good will, products and businesses so everyone wins. (And do not forget, it’s a tax write off!)
A gift can be offered to a hostess to encourage attendance to her party. Put a special sticker on one of her invitations before you mail them out. Then tell her she needs to call all of her invites two days before the party to remind them to attend. When she calls she needs to find out who got the special sticker in order to win the prize. Alternately, you can offer her a gift if she gets a minimum number of people to attend.
Gifts for attendees can be used for anything from encouraging purchases and enticing party bookings, to entertainment. To encourage purchases, you can offer a prize to the person who orders the most or you can designate a “secret product” and the first person to order it wins. Entice party bookings by offering gifts to each booker or the first person to book. As entertainment, door prizes can be offered to the winner of a party game. One great party game is to have everyone fill out their contact information on a card that also has blocks to mark off to sign up for email newsletters, book a party or request information about being a consultant. Then put the cards in a basket and pick a winner. That way you gain something from having given away a prize.
The type of prizes you give away will depend on the product line you are selling. If you sell a line that has low cost items or sample sizes, then these items make an inexpensive way to offer gifts and further promote the products you are selling. Or if you sell more than one line of products, samples from a different line can be an unobtrusive way of letting people know you sell more than what is being presented that day. However, if your product line does not lend itself well to gifting then you’ll need to put in a little more thought. You could just pick up cheap votive candles at the store, but I would suggest trying to support other home based businesses whenever you have the chance. So if you want to offer candles, then contact a candle consultant and purchase some from her. Alternately, there is a company called Sample Gal (http://www.samplegal.com/members/wildrose/) that sells boxes of 10-15 samples from small and home based businesses. At $15.00 per box that is approximately $1.00 per sample, not a bad price. This will give you a variety of low cost prizes to offer your guests and help out other small and home based businesses in the process.
So gather up your prizes and shower them on your guests to promote good will, products and businesses so everyone wins. (And do not forget, it’s a tax write off!)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Basic Tips for Repeated Medical Transcription Errors
By Connie Limon
Medical Transcription is acquiring a new skill. This new skill requires the coordination of your eyes, ears, fingers, and foot (if you use a foot pedal). If you are already an accomplished typist you start medical transcription with an advantage. You should have a copy type speed of at least 45 words per minute before attempting to transcribe medical dictation. You should expect to start out slow in the beginning of medical transcription. Do not try to type fast at first. Strive first for accuracy of medical words, grammar, punctuation, and format.
Accurately transcribing medical words, a good grasp of grammar, punctuation and format create another group of skills you must continually consider, evaluate and take time to master. Diligence and patience are key components when you first start medical transcription. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first. However, as the days pass on, your diligence will be rewarded later with added speed and accuracy.
As you transcribe each medical dictation, transcribe carefully, stop as often as necessary to word search. Word searching time is never time wasted. It strengthens and builds one of the most important skills for medical transcription.
Start slowly, take advantage of every opportunity to learn, memorize, and understand this new language of medical materials. Speed comes naturally as you acquire knowledge and experience. The fruit of all your labor will be a Medical Transcriptionist able to transcribe new reports accurately, quickly and with confidence.
There are six common categories of errors which include:
1. Omitted dictated word;
2. Wrong word;
3. Misspelled word;
4. Typographical error;
5. Grammatical error; and
6. Punctuation error.
Omitted dictated word: If you find yourself repeatedly omitting dictated words, do the following:
• Listen carefully to the dictation
• Slow your pace
• Do not increase your speed until these errors are minimized
Wrong word: If you repeatedly type the wrong word, do the following:
• Take more care in checking word definitions. The definition must match the context of the report.
Misspelled word: If you repeatedly misspell words, do the following:
• Mentally spell the corrected word several times
• Highlight the word in your dictionary
• Write the word in your personal notebook
Typographical error: If you have repeated typographical errors, do the following:
• Proofread carefully
• Allow time to elapse between the time you transcribe the report and the time you proofread it.
Grammatical error: If you have repeated grammatical errors, do the following:
• When physicians make grammatical errors in their dictation, the Medical Transcriptionist is expected to correct them.
• If your transcription contains a significant number of grammatical errors, a basic review of English is in order for the Medical Transcriptionist, and unfortunately, not the physician
Punctuation error: If you have repeated punctuation errors, do the following:
• The most serious punctuation errors are those that alter medical meaning.
• A significant number of punctuation errors require a basic review of punctuation.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Basic-Tips-for-Repeated-Medical-Transcription-Errors&id=655094
Medical Transcription is acquiring a new skill. This new skill requires the coordination of your eyes, ears, fingers, and foot (if you use a foot pedal). If you are already an accomplished typist you start medical transcription with an advantage. You should have a copy type speed of at least 45 words per minute before attempting to transcribe medical dictation. You should expect to start out slow in the beginning of medical transcription. Do not try to type fast at first. Strive first for accuracy of medical words, grammar, punctuation, and format.
Accurately transcribing medical words, a good grasp of grammar, punctuation and format create another group of skills you must continually consider, evaluate and take time to master. Diligence and patience are key components when you first start medical transcription. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first. However, as the days pass on, your diligence will be rewarded later with added speed and accuracy.
As you transcribe each medical dictation, transcribe carefully, stop as often as necessary to word search. Word searching time is never time wasted. It strengthens and builds one of the most important skills for medical transcription.
Start slowly, take advantage of every opportunity to learn, memorize, and understand this new language of medical materials. Speed comes naturally as you acquire knowledge and experience. The fruit of all your labor will be a Medical Transcriptionist able to transcribe new reports accurately, quickly and with confidence.
There are six common categories of errors which include:
1. Omitted dictated word;
2. Wrong word;
3. Misspelled word;
4. Typographical error;
5. Grammatical error; and
6. Punctuation error.
Omitted dictated word: If you find yourself repeatedly omitting dictated words, do the following:
• Listen carefully to the dictation
• Slow your pace
• Do not increase your speed until these errors are minimized
Wrong word: If you repeatedly type the wrong word, do the following:
• Take more care in checking word definitions. The definition must match the context of the report.
Misspelled word: If you repeatedly misspell words, do the following:
• Mentally spell the corrected word several times
• Highlight the word in your dictionary
• Write the word in your personal notebook
Typographical error: If you have repeated typographical errors, do the following:
• Proofread carefully
• Allow time to elapse between the time you transcribe the report and the time you proofread it.
Grammatical error: If you have repeated grammatical errors, do the following:
• When physicians make grammatical errors in their dictation, the Medical Transcriptionist is expected to correct them.
• If your transcription contains a significant number of grammatical errors, a basic review of English is in order for the Medical Transcriptionist, and unfortunately, not the physician
Punctuation error: If you have repeated punctuation errors, do the following:
• The most serious punctuation errors are those that alter medical meaning.
• A significant number of punctuation errors require a basic review of punctuation.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Visit Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ for a variety of FREE reprint articles for your newsletter, web sites or blogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Basic-Tips-for-Repeated-Medical-Transcription-Errors&id=655094
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Medical Transcriptionist's Role With Medical Report Formats and Style
By Connie Limon
Medical report formats and styles vary according to your location. The examination portion of a routine History and Physical report might be transcribed in block paragraph form or with indentations, hanging paragraphs, with subheadings in all capitals, or subheadings in upper and lowercase letters. There is no real set in stone format or style. You will need to follow the instructions of your employer about report formats and styles.
Sometimes the physician’s dictating style determines the appropriate format, or the medical facility you work for may mandate certain formats as standard.
The medical transcriptionist is usually allowed to add headings and subheadings to a dictated report as appropriate. While transcribing, the medical transcriptionist needs to be alert for when to insert an appropriate heading that is not dictated but is vital to the report. An example of this might be the dictator does not dictate such headings as “Diagnosis,” or “Final Diagnosis,” or “Discharge Summary.” The Medical Transcriptionist should insert these types of headings when the dictator fails to dictate them.
If you find yourself inserting appropriate headings not dictated by the dictator, you will need to flag the report to the attention of the dictator so that the diagnosis or final diagnosis can be stated if the information is left out. Of course, if only the heading is left out, you would not need to flag the report.
If you come across a dictator that uses abbreviations for report headings such as CC for Chief Complaint or HPI for History of Present Illness, always spell these headings out in full as you transcribe.
It is not uncommon for a physician to finish dictating the Physical Examination section of a Discharge Summary and start to dictate laboratory test results or x-ray results without dictating a heading for this new section. If this occurs, the appropriate course of action on the part of a medical transcriptionist is to paragraph after the Physical Examination and insert the appropriate paragraph heading such as “Laboratory Data,” or “Laboratory and X-ray Data,” before transcribing the actual data.
Sometimes a physician will dictate the singular form “diagnosis” and then list several diagnoses. The heading is appropriate to use either “Diagnosis” or “Diagnoses.” Diagnoses are usually listed vertically as a universal rule regardless of where or who you work for. This provides greater ease in reading.
A medical transcriptionist may wish to place numbers before a long list of diagnoses, regardless of whether or not the numbers are dictated by the physician. If the physician begins the diagnosis section dictating numbers and then only dictates one diagnosis, do not place a number in front of this one diagnosis. If the dictator dictates a long list of “anything” and loses track of his or her numbers, the medical transcriptionist should always transcribe the correct list instead.
Many dictators will dictate when to begin a paragraph. The medical transcriptionist should insert the paragraphs as dictated unless of course it is not grammatically correct to proceed as the dictator dictates the paragraphs. Paragraphs may also be added when the dictator fails to dictate one and it would be appropriate to break up long reports or to set up a new heading such as to separate “Findings” from the “Operative Procedure.” Some dictators may dictate “new line,” which actually means “new paragraph.”
Many hospitals, clinics, and physician offices store standard format outlines for each type of report dictated on the computer’s memory as templates, which are easily pulled up by the medical transcriptionist. This procedure has introduced greater conformity in format style within an institution and makes it absolutely painless for the medical transcriptionist to have to make adjustments and remember each format for each type of report dictated.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Transcriptionists-Role-With-Medical-Report-Formats-and-Style&id=659763
Medical report formats and styles vary according to your location. The examination portion of a routine History and Physical report might be transcribed in block paragraph form or with indentations, hanging paragraphs, with subheadings in all capitals, or subheadings in upper and lowercase letters. There is no real set in stone format or style. You will need to follow the instructions of your employer about report formats and styles.
Sometimes the physician’s dictating style determines the appropriate format, or the medical facility you work for may mandate certain formats as standard.
The medical transcriptionist is usually allowed to add headings and subheadings to a dictated report as appropriate. While transcribing, the medical transcriptionist needs to be alert for when to insert an appropriate heading that is not dictated but is vital to the report. An example of this might be the dictator does not dictate such headings as “Diagnosis,” or “Final Diagnosis,” or “Discharge Summary.” The Medical Transcriptionist should insert these types of headings when the dictator fails to dictate them.
If you find yourself inserting appropriate headings not dictated by the dictator, you will need to flag the report to the attention of the dictator so that the diagnosis or final diagnosis can be stated if the information is left out. Of course, if only the heading is left out, you would not need to flag the report.
If you come across a dictator that uses abbreviations for report headings such as CC for Chief Complaint or HPI for History of Present Illness, always spell these headings out in full as you transcribe.
It is not uncommon for a physician to finish dictating the Physical Examination section of a Discharge Summary and start to dictate laboratory test results or x-ray results without dictating a heading for this new section. If this occurs, the appropriate course of action on the part of a medical transcriptionist is to paragraph after the Physical Examination and insert the appropriate paragraph heading such as “Laboratory Data,” or “Laboratory and X-ray Data,” before transcribing the actual data.
Sometimes a physician will dictate the singular form “diagnosis” and then list several diagnoses. The heading is appropriate to use either “Diagnosis” or “Diagnoses.” Diagnoses are usually listed vertically as a universal rule regardless of where or who you work for. This provides greater ease in reading.
A medical transcriptionist may wish to place numbers before a long list of diagnoses, regardless of whether or not the numbers are dictated by the physician. If the physician begins the diagnosis section dictating numbers and then only dictates one diagnosis, do not place a number in front of this one diagnosis. If the dictator dictates a long list of “anything” and loses track of his or her numbers, the medical transcriptionist should always transcribe the correct list instead.
Many dictators will dictate when to begin a paragraph. The medical transcriptionist should insert the paragraphs as dictated unless of course it is not grammatically correct to proceed as the dictator dictates the paragraphs. Paragraphs may also be added when the dictator fails to dictate one and it would be appropriate to break up long reports or to set up a new heading such as to separate “Findings” from the “Operative Procedure.” Some dictators may dictate “new line,” which actually means “new paragraph.”
Many hospitals, clinics, and physician offices store standard format outlines for each type of report dictated on the computer’s memory as templates, which are easily pulled up by the medical transcriptionist. This procedure has introduced greater conformity in format style within an institution and makes it absolutely painless for the medical transcriptionist to have to make adjustments and remember each format for each type of report dictated.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Medical-Transcriptionists-Role-With-Medical-Report-Formats-and-Style&id=659763
Monday, March 10, 2008
Drug Forms - A Guide for the Medical Transcriptionist
By Connie Limon
Drugs are created in many different forms that include:
• Tablet
• Capsule
• Cream
• Ointment
• Lotion
• Powder
• Liquid
• Suppositories
• Transdermal
Tablets:
Contain dried powdered active drug as well as binders and fillers to provide bulk and proper tablet size. Scored tablets have an indented line running across the top. A scored tablet can be easily broken into two pieces with a knife to produce two doses.
Enteric tablets are covered with a special coating that resists stomach acid and dissolves in the alkaline environment of the small intestine to avoid irritation.
Slow-release tablets are made to provide a continuous, sustained release of certain drugs. Abbreviation for slow-release tablet is SR and for long acting tablets, the abbreviation is LA in the trade name of the drug. Example: Procan SR and Entex LA.
Caplets are easy-to-swallow coated tablets in the form of capsules.
Capsules is a drug form that comes in two varieties, soft gelatin shell made in one piece in which the drug is in a liquid form inside the shell and a hard shell made in two pieces that fit together and hold the drug, which is in a powdered or granular form.
Cream is a semisolid emulsion of oil such as lanolin or petroleum and water. The main ingredient is water. Many topical drugs are made in a cream base.
Ointment is a semisolid emulsion of oil such as lanolin or petroleum and water. Oil is the main ingredient. Many topical drugs are made in an ointment base such Kenalog ointment and specially formulated ophthalmic ointments.
Most creams and ointments are applied to the skin without precise measurement with the exception of nitroglycerin ointment used to prevent angina. Nitroglycerin is precisely measured in inches on a specially marked applicator paper which is taped to the patient’s skin.
Lotion is a suspension of an active drug in a water base for external use. Example is Keri lotion.
Powder is a finely ground form of an active drug.
Liquid comes in the form of either solutions or suspensions. Solutions come in the form of elixirs, syrups, tinctures, liquid sprays and foams.
Elixirs contain an alcohol and water base with added sugar and flavoring. Example would be Tylenol elixir.
Liquid sprays contain a solution of the drug combined with water or alcohol to be sprayed by a pump or aerosol propellant.
Suspensions contain fine, un-dissolved particles of a drug suspended in a liquid base.
Suppositories contain a solid base of glycerin or cocoa butter containing the drug.
Transdermal form of drugs is relatively new. It consists of a multi-layered disk containing a drug reservoir, a porous membrane, and an adhesive layer to hold it to the skin.
It helps to know the meanings of the different kinds of drug forms as you transcribe medical dictation.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Drug-Forms---A-Guide-for-the-Medical-Transcriptionist&id=655236
Drugs are created in many different forms that include:
• Tablet
• Capsule
• Cream
• Ointment
• Lotion
• Powder
• Liquid
• Suppositories
• Transdermal
Tablets:
Contain dried powdered active drug as well as binders and fillers to provide bulk and proper tablet size. Scored tablets have an indented line running across the top. A scored tablet can be easily broken into two pieces with a knife to produce two doses.
Enteric tablets are covered with a special coating that resists stomach acid and dissolves in the alkaline environment of the small intestine to avoid irritation.
Slow-release tablets are made to provide a continuous, sustained release of certain drugs. Abbreviation for slow-release tablet is SR and for long acting tablets, the abbreviation is LA in the trade name of the drug. Example: Procan SR and Entex LA.
Caplets are easy-to-swallow coated tablets in the form of capsules.
Capsules is a drug form that comes in two varieties, soft gelatin shell made in one piece in which the drug is in a liquid form inside the shell and a hard shell made in two pieces that fit together and hold the drug, which is in a powdered or granular form.
Cream is a semisolid emulsion of oil such as lanolin or petroleum and water. The main ingredient is water. Many topical drugs are made in a cream base.
Ointment is a semisolid emulsion of oil such as lanolin or petroleum and water. Oil is the main ingredient. Many topical drugs are made in an ointment base such Kenalog ointment and specially formulated ophthalmic ointments.
Most creams and ointments are applied to the skin without precise measurement with the exception of nitroglycerin ointment used to prevent angina. Nitroglycerin is precisely measured in inches on a specially marked applicator paper which is taped to the patient’s skin.
Lotion is a suspension of an active drug in a water base for external use. Example is Keri lotion.
Powder is a finely ground form of an active drug.
Liquid comes in the form of either solutions or suspensions. Solutions come in the form of elixirs, syrups, tinctures, liquid sprays and foams.
Elixirs contain an alcohol and water base with added sugar and flavoring. Example would be Tylenol elixir.
Liquid sprays contain a solution of the drug combined with water or alcohol to be sprayed by a pump or aerosol propellant.
Suspensions contain fine, un-dissolved particles of a drug suspended in a liquid base.
Suppositories contain a solid base of glycerin or cocoa butter containing the drug.
Transdermal form of drugs is relatively new. It consists of a multi-layered disk containing a drug reservoir, a porous membrane, and an adhesive layer to hold it to the skin.
It helps to know the meanings of the different kinds of drug forms as you transcribe medical dictation.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?Drug-Forms---A-Guide-for-the-Medical-Transcriptionist&id=655236
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Medical Transcriptionist Procedure for Flagging
By Connie Limon
Flagging a medical report is necessary when a Medical Transcriptionist leaves a blank or has some other question about a report.
ng
It is important to learn and follow the department or employer’s policy for handli questionable dictation. Most employers insist that their Medical Transcriptionist leave blanks rather than to “guess” or make up dictation to avoid leaving a blank.
Consider the following steps as a customary hospital and clinic policy for leaving blanks and flagging:
• Seek the supervisor’s opinion or that of another Medical Transcriptionist
• Refer to the patient’s chart if available
• Contact the dictating physician to ask about the word in question. This is often handled by the supervisor or lead transcriptionist
• Leave a blank in the report and attach a flag to the dictator’s attention
You will probably get different responses from different physicians. Some physicians may give you information above and beyond what you ask for, which may include entire articles out of texts or journals to answer your questions. Other physicians will simply write the words on your flagging note.
A problem you will encounter with posting notes is those that are paper clipped to the report or a post-it note can fall off. Notes need to be worded in an extremely tactful manner. The person to whom the note is directed can take offense when none is intended.
Another problem is most likely the Medical Transcriptionist will never see the printed copy of their reports. Printers are often in another location and another person is assigned to sorting and charting. One solution is to create a standard memo to accompany the report just like another page of the report. The memo may include:
• Patient’s name
• Other pertinent information
• Boxes or blanks to check for the problem encountered and a place to fill in the “sounds like.”
In either case as with using sticky notes or a standard memo, it is always important to remember the professional Medical Transcriptionist who desires to produce the most accurate, highest quality report possible will leave a blank and will learn from each blank he or she has to leave in medical dictation.
I have worked in both types of environments, one in which we all used a note paper clipped or a sticky note and the other where there is a standard memo attached to each transcribed report that floats along as part of the entire document wherever the report goes.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Medical-Transcriptionist-Procedure-for-Flagging&id=662355
Flagging a medical report is necessary when a Medical Transcriptionist leaves a blank or has some other question about a report.
ng
It is important to learn and follow the department or employer’s policy for handli questionable dictation. Most employers insist that their Medical Transcriptionist leave blanks rather than to “guess” or make up dictation to avoid leaving a blank.
Consider the following steps as a customary hospital and clinic policy for leaving blanks and flagging:
• Seek the supervisor’s opinion or that of another Medical Transcriptionist
• Refer to the patient’s chart if available
• Contact the dictating physician to ask about the word in question. This is often handled by the supervisor or lead transcriptionist
• Leave a blank in the report and attach a flag to the dictator’s attention
You will probably get different responses from different physicians. Some physicians may give you information above and beyond what you ask for, which may include entire articles out of texts or journals to answer your questions. Other physicians will simply write the words on your flagging note.
A problem you will encounter with posting notes is those that are paper clipped to the report or a post-it note can fall off. Notes need to be worded in an extremely tactful manner. The person to whom the note is directed can take offense when none is intended.
Another problem is most likely the Medical Transcriptionist will never see the printed copy of their reports. Printers are often in another location and another person is assigned to sorting and charting. One solution is to create a standard memo to accompany the report just like another page of the report. The memo may include:
• Patient’s name
• Other pertinent information
• Boxes or blanks to check for the problem encountered and a place to fill in the “sounds like.”
In either case as with using sticky notes or a standard memo, it is always important to remember the professional Medical Transcriptionist who desires to produce the most accurate, highest quality report possible will leave a blank and will learn from each blank he or she has to leave in medical dictation.
I have worked in both types of environments, one in which we all used a note paper clipped or a sticky note and the other where there is a standard memo attached to each transcribed report that floats along as part of the entire document wherever the report goes.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info/ for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com/ and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Medical-Transcriptionist-Procedure-for-Flagging&id=662355
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Can I Promote my Business for Free?
Kudzu is a business directory that is offering free premium listings though 2008. And free basic listings permanently.
Also, you can simply post in other Work at Home forums with links to your website in your signature. I get tons of visitors from that.
If you are not running ad sense ads on your site than you can try traffic exchange programs. I've not had much luck with them but some people do. It depends on what you are selling. DO NOT do this if you are using adsence ads, it can void your agreement with Google and get you kicked out.
I have found a few traffic exchanges that are dedicated to Work at Home businesses. I find them much more beneficial than the generic programs. The second two also have additional promotion tools other than just manual traffic exchange.
http://readybanner.com/
http://www.shoppingwithmoms.com/?r=59352
http://wahm-trade.com/?r=59026
Antother resource to check out is Sample Gals. This new company gives you free advertising by letting you put your product samples in the sample boxes they sell. They also give you links on their website.
Finally, you can write articles for free content sites like:
Article City
Content Infusion
and Ezine Articles
Also, you can simply post in other Work at Home forums with links to your website in your signature. I get tons of visitors from that.
If you are not running ad sense ads on your site than you can try traffic exchange programs. I've not had much luck with them but some people do. It depends on what you are selling. DO NOT do this if you are using adsence ads, it can void your agreement with Google and get you kicked out.
I have found a few traffic exchanges that are dedicated to Work at Home businesses. I find them much more beneficial than the generic programs. The second two also have additional promotion tools other than just manual traffic exchange.
http://readybanner.com/
http://www.shoppingwithmoms.com/?r=59352
http://wahm-trade.com/?r=59026
Antother resource to check out is Sample Gals. This new company gives you free advertising by letting you put your product samples in the sample boxes they sell. They also give you links on their website.
Finally, you can write articles for free content sites like:
Article City
Content Infusion
and Ezine Articles
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)