Cited: Advance Magazine

ehr-1In response to Pres. Obama’s provisions and mandate for EHR adaption under the recent HITECH Act, the transcription sector took a message to Capitol Hill on June 3-4. With Pres. Obama pushing for definition and criteria are for “meaningful use” by July, the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) and the Association of Health Care Documentation Integrity (AHDI) believe that the window is narrowing for the opportunity for that sector to ensure the criteria includes provisions for the evolution of transcription in hybrid capture. There is complex narrative is that need to be preserved and quality outcomes, not just fiscal savings, that drive adoption and integration of systems. The determination of “meaningful use” lies in a hands of the Department Of Health and Human Services (HHS) and each IT vendors are getting ready for those key decision-makers to make up their mind. That message to the legislators was that the HHS needs others involved in that decision-making who are interested in tearing it more towards the technologies that will be deployed and not whether they will be deployed.

Defining “meaningful use” is not the role of HIT but rather of clinicians and experts in health care documentation who can speak to the document workflow process and the complexities of capturing health stories in a way that informs clinical decision-making and promotes coordination of care. If the “meaningful use” definition is shaped only by the vendor community, there is great risk for EHR deployment to fall short of health care’s goals for capturing and consuming health information. All stakeholders, most importantly the patient, lose under such an imprudent integration approach.

More than 120 legislative appointments were held during the 2-day summit through collaborative dialogue from both MTIA business owners ehr-2and AHDI health care documentation workers who met together with Senate and House members to share the importance of our quality-focused sector in accurately capturing patient health stories. We visited with legislators from 26 states and delivered letters from AHDI members to their respective legislators for 28 states. Each person had an opportunity to share the key talking points and messages prepared for the event, as well as to engage in dialogue with legislators and their aides about the role transcription can and does play in accurate capture. Likewise, we stressed the need to preserve complex narrative in the EHR so that the important nuances of a patient’s story are captured outside of restrictive point-and-click templates. Consideration must be given, as well, to the impact on clinicians who are inefficiently deployed to capture health care encounters rather than engaging in provision of care. And we talked about the value of a knowledge worker positioned in partnership with physicians to ensure the accurate, secure capture and repurposing of health information.

A lobbying firm will be hired by MTIA and AHDI that will help push this message to the right people on the HELP committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) in HHS. These people are the ones who are responsible for the “meaningful use” definition. The lobbying firm will also help get the message and recommendations to David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health IT, to make sure that transcriptionists are not left out of the EHR integration regulations, recommendations and standards. The opportunity to contribute to and participate in this advocacy effort is what both medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs) and MTs are looking for.

You can find out more about the AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit by visiting the Summit Web page at www.ahdionline.org. You can just click on “Networking” and “Events.”

________________________________________

ehr-3My Take: As a former medical transcriptionist, I think this is great. I only call myself a former Transcriptionist because too many MTSOs have gone out of business because of “outsourcing”. Thus, I am now writing needs comments to you about the above article.

Then as now, I do not have to worry about time and attendance because I work from home at my own speed and when I want. I also never had to worry about making sure that my time got into an online payroll service so that I could be paid because it was all calculated by me in an invoice. To clarify, I was a subcontractor as I am now.

MTs are paid a very good rate. That does not mean that they are able to get a maid VA to do their housework. That does not mean that some of the better ones cannot avail themselves of professional cleaning services Fairfax. The faster you work and the fewer errors you have determine what pay rate you get per line and whether you can afford VA cleaning.

I think that having both the MTSO’s and MTs involved in the decision-making is a good thing. I equate this with having a firefighter involved in purchasing protective gear that he uses to fight fires. It makes sense for everybody to get a fair break with EHRs.

________________________________________

Unrelated Resources

Duplication and Replication

Companies cannot compete with prices and speed because of the most cutting edge technology used to produce a massive amount of product at a daily rate. Once you experience the service you will witness that the best product at the most competitive prices. Simplify your life when it comes to California DVD replication and CD duplication. The extreme quality service and attention to detail constantly produces successful results for you.