April 2011

ETHICS 101 MEDICAL FIELD

Ever thought about the business ethics relating to billing, transcription or coding? What are ethics? They are a set of moral principles and for our purposes, they are the rules of conduct recognized to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc., in this case professional ethics.

Let’s look at some of the ethical standards in the related fields of healthcare. Since MTs, billers, coders, and medical office personnel are certainly directly in the pipeline of patient information management, here are a few things to think about.

• Confidential management of patient information
• High standards for transcription practices such as encrypting files before sending, not having files sit on a computer unprotected, shredding patient information that may have been printed, having a locked file cabinet for any disks that may contain patient information, and even having a lock on the office door
• Continue professional growth to enhance knowledge and skill set
• Keep abreast of the HIPAA Law relating to patient information and make sure your practice, or business are in compliance
• Commitment to rapid response in the need for distribution of patient information so that efforts to close time gaps work since lives may hang in the balance
• Commit to the need for medical records that are as close to correct as possible
• Learn the facts about correct coding policies (and the law)*
• If involved in the billing/payment process, use integrity to do a good and honest job of it

*Accurate coding must reflect exactly what happened during a provider-patient encounter. Coders never up-code to gain a higher payment advantage.

In the MT field, it isn’t unusual to hear about unfair competition, for example, inducing customers you work on for your employer to leave and come over to you as your customer. That’s unethical. Coders who try to figure higher reimbursement for using the technically incorrect codes are unethical. Any patient professional who provides unauthorized medical information is unethical. Additionally, unethical activities may have serious legal consequences.

WHAT ARE BUSINESS ETHICS?

Abstracted from an article by: Chester Clive (http://www.articlesbase.com)
Business ethics apply to any and all aspects of business conduct, from boardroom strategies to how companies treat their employees, managers, suppliers and even to sales techniques and accounting practices. Ethics go beyond the legal requirements for a company. Ethical matters are an almost daily topic in the news, in business schools, in politics, in the workplace and in our homes. As a business coach, Mr. Clive pays close attention to business ethics and what is written about them since he is a strategic thinking, planning and business coach.

Our personal interpretation of ethics affects our interpersonal relations with others, such as family, friends, neighbors, and fellow workers.

Business ethics examine rules and principles within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce. Implementing an ethics program in an organization accomplishes many things. First, research has found that greater attention to ethics in the workplace has actually improved society overall; for instance, we no longer have to fear poverty due to accidents in the workplace, and our children are no longer forced to work at age 8. Those in the workplace have more rights, and are therefore more productive.

You hear stories of large business fraud to small business embezzlement reported with ever-increasing frequency; unfortunately business ethics are under attack. Political ethics make the daily news.

Clearly then, ethics play an ever increasing role in our society today, and environmental ethics and business ethics should be in the vanguard. The Wall Street melt down a couple of years ago is a great example of serious ethical problems that had a very wide and disastrous impact on our country’s economics. Swindles are so popular that people make their living at them.

• 2 large cans of Campbell’s Chunky Sirloin Burger soup
• 3 cups of white rice, cooked.

Drain the soup a little, and pour over the hot cooked rice. Microwave until hot. Serve with saltine crackers or buttered bread and a fresh garden salad. This recipe is quick and easy for busy, working students!

January 2011 Newsletter

New Beginnings

Ah, a brand new year! A time to reflect, plan, hope and implement. This is a good time to re-evaluate life paths. Am I happy? Maybe just content? Am I productive? How am I doing financially? Are the goals I set a lifetime ago or just last year still on track? Are they achievable? Looking back at the past year, did I improve things? Did things change for the better or for the worse? How did I/do I measure up? It’s a good time to reflect on where we are and where we are going. It is a time for new beginnings.

During this time of life assessment, it’s a good thing to map out a plan for the New Year. A life well lived is a life well planned. We cannot expect to have great outcomes in any project, goal, or endeavor without some forethought and planning. In mapping out a plan for the New Year, we are not talking about making a list of resolutions though resolutions can be a good thing for some. The down side is that we tend to put things on the resolution list that we feel we should do rather than what we really want to do. To begin mapping out a plan for the New Year start by asking yourself what you really want. The following questions can assist in assessing your true values and desires over the things you feel you should accomplish.

• What would I change about my financial situation to make it better or more stable?
• What would I change about my life to create more happiness for myself and those around me?
• Do I need more time with family?
• Do I need more money to help make goals/dreams come true?
• Am I happy in my current job/career?

The answers to those questions will help in determining what kind of a plan of action would be effective to improve upon any of the negative answers. If you need more time with your family, then how can you effectively make that happen? If money is an issue, how can you increase income creatively? If you are unhappy in your present job or career, what steps can you take this year to get closer to your goal of career achievement? By answering these questions, you begin to understand what you might consider in order to reach your goals. Even small steps leading to a major goal are better than not taking any action at all. If you’ve always dreamed of a college degree, then enroll in some classes. If you are unhappy in your current job or career, consider some fast-track career training. If you need extra money, consider starting a small side business that you would enjoy operating. The choice is yours.

Let 2011 be the year that you took positive steps toward creating the life of your dreams.

As you reflect, write your goals down and read them every day. Make notes that relate to items on your list as they open, alter, shift and change (which they always do, part of the fascination of this life experience), and above all….Enjoy yourself!!

Technology companies try to anticipate change and then implement it. After change is proposed or enacted as law, the breaking news is all about the implementation done by some big company or firm, and how others are trying to follow suit.

In 2010, a very major change was proposed and enacted that deeply affected the insurance industry as well as those in need of affordable medical care. Healthcare reforms were implemented and brought tremendous amount of challenge and the need for change in the healthcare sector. The main motive was to make sure that healthcare services are available to one and all within the range of affordable prices. Certainly you noticed it was a political Ping-Pong ball.

Healthcare providers, health insurance companies, employers who provide healthcare benefits to employees were all affected by these reforms. At the same time, agents, brokers and smaller units facilitating the process of health insurance are also impacted.

Along with the changes, lots of opportunities and ideas spring forth from the companies that innovate and development software. The IT (Information Technology) departments of all the healthcare providers and the insurers then scramble to provide the solutions. Like we mentioned in the New Year Plan -health care providers and insurers – no matter how large or small must:

1. Know what type of change is required
2. Design and test the new platforms and delivery tools and systems
3. Implement ways to adapt to the changes
4. Ensure that the compliance to change is monitored and audited
5. Try to preserve any profit margin

It is not easy to adapt to change quickly but survival in the market demands swift action when a change is imposed that affects any kind of business. It is true that the insurance industry certainly opposed the new plan for reform, but faced with the challenges of business, they will likely learn something from the process to make sure they perform as expected to survive the changes. Certainly the reform will have an impact on their profits. Policies will shift and change and lifetime caps will provide no protection for payers. Medicare Advantage Plans will be impacted as well.

The insurance costs and denial of benefits (pre-existing conditions) were the main target that the reforms were trying to address. It is hoped that if insurance costs could be significantly decreased, more of the 23 million uninsured people in the U.S. would be able to afford coverage. Keep in mind that the high costs of care for the “no insurance” category of people creates a huge number of credit-related problems, including bankruptcy.

The mandatory benefit package may cost more than the catastrophic plans, which will ensure that the insurance companies are not in loss column. The healthcare reforms require that insurers provide a certain minimum level of benefits in the health insurance exchanges that individuals and small firms must use to buy coverage. It is expected that the law will reduce about $200 billion in government payments to Medicare Advantage Plans. Healthcare. That may be interesting.

The challenge for healthcare IT companies is to analyze the situation and key areas where they need to change in order to make sure that their business makes the grade. Administrative costs need to be driven down to leverage profits since the premiums are going to slide down and reduce as the implementation goes in full-swing. With the creation of state insurance exchanges, the prices of health plans would hopefully become competitive. At the same time , technology compliance and implementation will require substantial investment to bridge the gap.

Time – NOTE ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL, so calculate according to where you live

• Thursday -11:00-Noon Medical
• Friday- 11:00-Noon – Legal
• Saturday- 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. – Medical
• Sunday- 2:00 pm-3:00 p.m. – Legal

Also, Meditec is now on Facebook. Please join our Facebook page and enjoy the fun! Meditec’s Online Medical Courses to Online Medical Career Page

INTERESTING WEBSITES

http://www.healthcare.gov/?gclid=CPGdvI77m6YCFchl7Aode2AGnQ Healthcare reform website.

RECIPE FOR JANUARY

Green Pepper Casserole

• 3 lbs ground beef, cooked, drained
• 2 large cans diced tomatoes, partially drained
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 bag frozen chopped green peppers
• 4 large fresh green peppers, chopped
• 1 large can tomato sauce

*Cook and drain ground beef. Cook white rice. Add all ingredients into a large 13x9x2 pan. Top with tomato sauce. Bake for 45 minutes 350 degrees.

Student Spotlight

My name is Kathy T. Due to childcare issues, I had to quit my job about four years ago. Once I found suitable childcare, I was unable to find a job. We live in an area that has been hit hard by the economic downturn and jobs are scarce around here. I talked to a friend who went through Meditec’s program about 7-8 years ago and she encouraged me to try it. I did some research and thought being an MT would be very interesting. Plus, I can find a job for a company outside my area and work from home. After researching other MT courses and hearing about my friend’s experience, I decided to go with Meditec. The internship program was an added bonus to the program. I loved that I could work at my own pace. During the course of my studies, I had to stop for extended periods a couple of times due to other things going on in my life. It was so nice not to lose everything I had worked for when I had to stop for awhile. Also, every time I called Meditec needing advice or help with a problem, the people I talked to were always very helpful. I got the feeling they really care and really want us to succeed. I have finished my MT course and am now working on my internship. I am excited about this new opportunity in my life. Thank you Meditec!

Congratulations to Kathy T from the Meditec staff. Way to go, Kathy! We are glad that we could assist you in meeting your goals of becoming a work at home MT. Please stay in touch with us!

December 2010 Newsletter

ALL ABOUT ICD-10
Many people are wondering what ICD-10 is and how implementation will affect their medical coding careers. The fact is that nearly every country except the United States is already using ICD-10. ICD 9 was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s. ICD-10 was developed by WHO in 1993, and most countries adopted it very quickly. So the question, is why do we need a new book? The answer is simply that ICD 9 has run out of room! With advances in medical technologies and science, there are more new diagnoses every time which the current system cannot document.

The Department of Health and Human Services has stated that implementation of ICD-10 in the US is scheduled for October 2013. Some coding students are worried because some entities are pushing training for ICD-10 now. The AAPC doesn’t recommend that coders start training at present for ICD-10 for several reasons. The main reason is that one tends to forget what is not in practice immediately. At the moment, coding students need to learn ICD 9 coding because that is the system in current use right now. A few months before ICD-10 is implemented, most good programs and organizations will have seminars, webinars, etc to train on how to code with the new book. Coding procedure will scarcely change, therefore, the transition is quite easy.

Many coders and coding students ask how ICD-10 will be different from ICD-9. Well, the key difference is: A) ICD-10 will have more codes than ICD-9. B) Since ICD-9 codes are mostly numeric, ICD-10 codes will be alpha-numeric; in fact, ICD-10 will have up to 7 alpha-numeric digits as compared to 5 numeric digits in ICD-9. Lastly, ICD-10 will have an upgrade of up to 141,000 codes, compared to 17,000 in ICD-9.

Right now, students who want to learn medical coding will need to learn ICD 9 and CPT coding conventions. Medical coding procedures and conventions will remain pretty standard between ICD 9 and ICD-10. The skill set will transfer easily. There will be coding seminars, webinars, etc available through professional coding organizations and schools.

THE HITECH ACT AND HIPAA – WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR IT PROFESSIONALS?

The Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health (HITECH) act really does ‘up the ante’ for HIPAA enforcement. In theory, health organizations have had to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) since its introduction in 1996. Originally, HIPAA was introduced by congress to protect the health insurance rights of employees made redundant. Additional ‘Titles’ to the act were introduced including ‘Title 2′ which was designed to protect electronically stored data relating to patient health information – often referred to as ‘Protected Health Information’ (PHI).

The Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health (HITECH) act really does ‘up the ante’ for HIPAA enforcement.

In theory Health organizations have had to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) since its introduction in 1996. Originally HIPAA was introduced by congress to protect the health insurance rights of employees made redundant. Additional ‘Titles’ to the act were introduced including ‘Title 2′ which was designed to protect electronically stored data relating to patient health information – often referred to as ‘Protected Health Information’ (PHI)

The problem with HIPAA has been the broad interpretation adopted by many healthcare providers and insurers. In fact, many providers require the waiver of HIPPA rights as a condition of service. This has undoubtedly resulted in a varying degree of adoption among providers leaving many unsure as to whether they are or are not considered compliant. But how could you blame them? The requirements aren’t specific and there has been little enforcement to speak of.

The HITECH act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aims to change all that with increased penalties for non-compliance.
A breach that exposes a patient’s confidential data could have serious and lasting consequences. Unlike credit cards, for example, which can be cancelled and changed if they are exposed – health care records can’t just be changed or re-set. According to data from Forrester Research, criminals are increasingly targeting health care organizations. For security teams within health organizations, HITECH’s increased penalties may well assist in the justification of funding needed to sure up security and compliance projects that otherwise may have languished under the previously ambivalent and poorly defined HIPAA enforcement.

It is open to debate as to how the federal government will audit compliance with HIPAA’s security requirements from here on in, but it widens the number of enforcers by giving State Attorney General’s the ability to file federal civil action for harmful disclosures of protected health information (PHI).

There are already cases of lawsuits underway for alleged HIPAA violations due to exposed or breached PHI, likely to end with heavy financial compensation payments being ordered.

Some Good News…

Like all things in life there’s usually a process to follow and HIPAA and HITECH are no different. The main headings that will need to be addressed are:

Administrative Safeguards – specifically written evidence of measures adopted to ensure compliance. Internal auditing, in particular, change management processes, approvals and documentation to provide evidence that systems and process is properly governed.

Physical Safeguards – including access controls, restrict and control access to equipment containing PHI information. This will include the use of Firewalls, Intrusion Protection technology and with particular focus on workstation, mobile/remote worker security

Technical Safeguards – Configuration ‘hardening’, to ensure that known threats and vulnerabilities are eliminated from all systems with a zealous patch management process combined with anti-virus technology, regularly tested and verified as secure. Strong monitoring for security incidents and events, with all event logs being securely retained is also a key measure to safeguard IT system security.

In fact, the scope of the standard is quite similar in respect of its approach and its measures to the PCIDSS (The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), which is another security standard all healthcare providers will now be familiar with. The PCIDSS is concerned with the secure governance of Payment Card data, and any ‘card merchant’ i.e. an organization handling payment card transactions.
Therefore, it makes sense to consider measures for HIPAA compliance in the context of PCIDSS also, since the same technology that helps deliver HIPAA compliance should be relevant for PCIDSS. Or to put it another way – compliance with one will significantly assist compliance with the other.

What do you need to do as an IT Service Provider to your Organization?

A number of automated ‘compliance auditing’ solutions are available that typically provide the following functions:

Compliance Auditing (AKA Device Hardening) – typically, ‘out of the box’ as well as ‘made to order’ reports allow you to quickly test critical security settings for servers & desktops, network devices and firewalls. The best solutions will provide details on your administrative procedures, technical data, security services, and technical security mechanisms. Generally, these reports will probably identify some security gaps to begin with. Once repaired though, you can generate these reports again to prove to auditors that your servers are compliant. Using inbuilt change tracking you can ensure systems remains compliant.

Change Tracking – once your firewalls, servers, workstations, switches, routers etc are all in a compliant state you need to ensure they remain so. The only way to do this is to routinely verify the configuration settings have not changed because unplanned, undocumented changes will always be made while somebody has the admin rights to do so! We will alert when any unplanned changes are detected to the firewall, or any other network device within your ‘Compliant Infrastructure’.

Planned Change Audit Trail – when changes do need to be made to a device then you need to ensure that changes are approved and documented – we make this easy and straightforward, reconciling all changes made with the RFC or Change Approval record.

Device ‘Hardening’ must be enforced and audited. A good compliance auditing solution will provide automated templates for a hardened (secured & compliant) configuration for servers, desktops and network devices to show where work is needed to get compliant, and thereafter, will track all planned and unplanned changes that affect the hardened status of your infrastructure. The state of the art in compliance auditing software covers registry keys and values, file integrity, service and process whitelisting/blacklisting, user accounts, installed software, patches, access rights, password ageing and much more.

Event Log Management – All event logs from all devices must be analyzed, filtered, correlated and escalated appropriately. Event log messages must be stored in a secure, integrity-assured repository for the required retention period for any governance policy.

Correlation of Security Information & Audit Logs – in addition, you should implement Log Gathering from all devices with correlation capabilities for security event signature identification and powerful ‘mining’ and analysis capabilities. This provides a complete ‘compliance safety net’ to ensure, for example to name just a few, virus updates complete successfully, host intrusion protection is enabled at all times, firewall rules are not changed, user accounts , rights and permissions are not changed without permission.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR: All NewNetTechnologies software solutions are built using the latest technology, which means they can be fully adapted to suit all business environments. For more information on HIPAA compliance view our software solutions on www.newnettechnologies.com which provide 100% of the features you need but at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.

HOLIDAY SPENDING

Many people feel stressed out over the holidays due to financial constraints and depression. It is the time of year that brings memories of the past. Those who have lost loved ones may feel especially down at Christmas.

We at Meditec wish you and your family a very blessed holiday season. These are some ideas to keep holiday spending in control and to lift your spirits:

Spending:

• Try to avoid the use of credit cards to pay for gifts.
• Plan to stick within your gift-giving budget.
• Inexpensive heartfelt gifts are sometimes the very best. Think of baked items served in pretty holiday tins. Making a loved one a cookbook with recipes you’ve found online and have bound in a pretty binder for them. Handmade items like slippers, scarves, Christmas ornaments, etc are always appreciated.
• If you have a very large family, maybe suggesting picking names for gift giving would assist all family members to feel less stressed out.
• Set limits with your children. Help them to understand the true meaning of the holiday.
• Buy simple heartfelt gifts.
• Use dollar stores.
• Candles, comfy slippers, warm gloves- are all great Christmas gift ideas.

Depression:

• Allow yourself to process through your feelings.
• Spend time with friends or relatives.
• Visit a nursing home and bring some magazines or holiday baked items to share.
• Visit an animal shelter and bring treats for the homeless animals
• Volunteer some time at a local homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter. Cheering someone else up is a sure way to make yourself feel better.
• If you are feeling lonely, plan some activities during the holiday season. Go see a good movie, or rent some comedies to watch.
• Now is the perfect time to adopt a pet from the pound. You’d be saving a life and would have a lifelong friend!
• Reach out to others. Talk about how you are feeling.
• Find a group to join: local church, local book club at your public library, an exercise group.

Remember, the true meaning of the holiday has little to do with going broke. So, keep the gifts small and simple, and put the joy back into Christmas. Focus on friends, family, doing something for others. It’s not about how much you spend. Also, look around you for those who seem alone, and invite them to celebrate the holiday with you.

Meditec has started weekly “office hours” with our instructors. These are available via our online classroom to respond to questions for the following programs: Medical Transcription Medical Coding Medical Billing Paralegal Legal Transcription Get your questions answered in real time by one of our qualified and experienced instructors.

INTERESTING WEB SITES

Medical transcriptionists, medical coders, medical billers, and paralegals all use the Internet at times for research. When we find an interesting website, we will list it here. It is suggested that Meditec students and new graduates keep an organized list of reference links in a MS Word document or Excel file for easy and quick access.

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz4508452c228.html Fun Medical Terminology Quizzes!

RECIPE FOR DECEMBER

Six Cup Salad

1 cup drained pineapple chunks
1 cup maraschino cherries
1 cup mandarin oranges drained
1 cup sour cream
1 cup marshmallows
1 cup shredded coconut
Mix together. Chill in refrigerator for an hour before serving. If you want more, just add ½ to 1 cup to each ingredient. Enjoy!

HOLIDAY FUNNY
What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?

It’s Christmas, Eve!

Excerpted from: http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/jokes/christmasevejokes.htm

November 2010 Newsletter

Cross-Training: The Smart Choice
In an unsure economy having a multitude of employable skills is your best defense. Money in the bank means little if you lose your job and cannot find another. In a scenario such as this, you would likely see all of your savings drain away quickly. Cross-training from medical transcription into medical coding and billing is a smart choice. Whereas there are plenty of MT jobs available, it is still a wise choice to expand your career options. Also, if you wanted to set up your own business and obtain several MT clients, you could also do their coding/billing if you had the proper training. Therefore, you’d maximize your income potential. Medical coding and billing is a natural extension of medical transcription. After the medical record has been created through MT, it is then coded and billed. Medical transcriptionists find it as an easy transition from MT to coding and billing. Many of Meditec’s MT students come back to us for training in coding/billing. It gives them more career flexibility, more options, and more security.

Another great cross-training option is from medical transcription into legal transcription. Most MTs work at home, and are independent contractors. It makes sense to expand your skill set into legal transcription because it gives you the option to also pick up extra work in that field. Learning legal transcription is not as intensive as learning MT. In fact, the Meditec LT program can be completed in as little as 3 months. The program begins with an overview of each area of law speciality, then moves into how to format documents, and then dictation practice. As an independent contractor, cross-training from MT into LT is a wise choice because many transcription services are now bringing on medical transcription clients, legal clients, and general transcription clients. So, it makes sense to expand your skill set.

Meditec offers returning students a 25% discount off any second program they’d like to take. If you are interested in one of our programs, please write to us asking for your FREE career guide. Info@meditec.com

Medical Billing is the Fastest Growing Opportunity in Health Care

On February 16, 2006, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was finalized, and enacted. This law is designed to establish national standards for all health care transactions, and to ensure the security and privacy of all health related information. The motivation behind this law is to improve the performance and efficiency of our health care system. This type of reform has created a need for qualified individuals who can utilize the tools of this legislation, and assure full compliance, and maximum reimbursement. It would therefore be a prudent move for health care facilities to employ such individuals in order to avoid mistakes that could have dire consequences.

The proliferation of medical knowledge following World War II brought about an explosion of diagnostic, and treatment procedures. As a result, there became a need to organize and standardize all these developing technologies. Here is where the foundations of medical coding were born. Medical coding met these challenges, and allowed for a more uniform way of communicating health information under a common language. By January 1979, standardized definitions and codes were adopted and used by health care providers and insurance companies. Since improvements and refinements of medical procedures are constantly being developed, codes must be added and updated to reflect these changes. Today, the number of medical and surgical procedures have become enormous, so too have the codes to describe them. These overwhelming numbers of codes and protocols have made outsourcing medical billing the standard.

Medical Billing and related occupations continue to be the fastest growing opportunities in health care. Insurance institutions and government agencies are investing huge resources to control claims’ fraud, abuse, and establish some degree of reimbursement parity. As a result, more insurance companies, and health care facilities are looking to medical billing experts for help. These companies and practices are looking for experienced and educated individuals – the legal consequences of incorrect billing could be devastating. There is a movement in the industry to make medical billers responsible for inaccuracies, much the way accountants are for tax returns.

At present, there are no standards for educational requirements for medical billers and coders. However, more employers are looking for some formal training at an accredited career training institution. These schools range in training time from nine months to two years – anything less would not be considered adequate. There is a move for certification, and several organizations are sponsoring certification examinations in medical billing and coding. Medical billers and coders earn as much as $8 to $10 per hour in the beginning, and could potentially realize $30 to $40 per hours with experience and additional responsibilities.

Today, evolutions in the health care industry are happening at a very high pace. It is only with the assistance of sophisticated computer programs, and standardized coding procedures that medical coders are now able to describe and characterize the tremendous number and various kinds of medical and surgical procedures. These realities coupled with government regulations and health insurance guidelines have contributed to the strong demand for experienced medical coders and billers.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ – Free Articles Directory/About the Author: Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor for Medical Billing Resource. Visit http://all-medical-billing-software.com/ for more information.

Thanksgiving Traditions: Nine Ideas for Families

Celebrate family and togetherness this Thanksgiving Day with some time-honored traditions, which give us a sense of family identity and meaningfulness that can last for generations.

Here are nine ideas for starting new family traditions, and for revering the old ones:

1. Sit down with your family and reminisce about your childhood celebrations. What do you remember most about Thanksgiving and the days that follow? Thanksgiving traditions can be much more than just food and recipes. In what ways did your childhood traditions symbolize particular values, such as abundance, generosity, the importance of family? What would you like to do that is the same? What would you do like to do differently?

2. Make a small booklet or a mini scrapbook album (which you can either make or purchase.) Write “Five Things I Love About My Family and Friends” and keep it out on the table during your Thanksgiving celebration. Each guest can come and record thoughts and insights. Other themes to try: “Five Things I am Thankful For” or “Five Wishes for my Family and Friends.” An even simpler approach would be to put one sheet of cardstock out for each year, and combine them together over the years in a Thanksgiving Gratitude Scrapbook.

3. Keep a Family Gratitude Journal throughout the year. Each night, a family member can share something that they are grateful for. Share the highlights of this family tradition at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day.

4. Make a Gratitude Circle. Before the Thanksgiving meal, everyone stands and holds hands in a circle. Guests each take a turn sharing what they are grateful for. Or, if your guests are on the shy side, ask everyone to write down their blessings on a piece of paper, which you can read before or after dinner.

5. Designate a particular tablecloth for your family Thanksgiving celebrations. Provide fabric markers where guests can record their “gratitudes” or special prayers for the year ahead. Ask your guests to sign and date each message, as you will be using the same tablecloth year after year.

6. Involve the entire family in Thanksgiving decorations. Family Fun magazine posts lots of creative ideas for the entire family at familyfun.go.com

7. Make a hostess gift for the person who is cooking this year. Purchase an apron or a T shirt or a gift album with sentiments of thanks from each guest. Present the gift after dinner.

8. Show your gratitude to an unsung hero. Get together with your family and decide on a person or a group in your community who could use an extra pat on the back, i.e. firefighters, soldiers, police officers, volunteers. Put together a special plate of goodies and deliver it (or pack it up for shipping) as a family.

9. Preserve your traditions. After the meal, record the favorite activities of each family member. Appoint one person to be the scribe, or ask everyone to jot down a few thoughts. Remember to take lots of photos. It is fun to place disposable cameras throughout the house so everyone can capture bits of the action.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ – Free Articles Directory/ About the Author: Susie Cortright is the founder of http://www.momscape.com and http://www.Susies-Coupons.com, where she hand-picks only the very best online coupons and products, including coupons for children’s clothing: http://www.susies-coupons.com/children.htm

HOLIDAY POEM

Thanksgiving”
The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway~
Thanksgiving comes again!—Unknown

From: http://www.mahalo.com/thanksgiving-poems

Meditec has started weekly “office hours” with our instructors. These are available via our online classroom to respond to questions for the following programs: Medical Transcription Medical Coding Medical Billing Paralegal Legal Transcription Get your questions answered in real time by one of our qualified and experienced instructors.

INTERESTING WEB SITES

Medical transcriptionists, medical coders, medical billers, and paralegals all use the Internet at times for research. When we find an interesting website, we will list it here. It is suggested that Meditec students and new graduates keep an organized list of reference links in a MS Word document or Excel file for easy and quick access.

http://www.anatomyarcade.com/ – Fun online anatomy games. Enjoy!

Recipe for November

Ingredients:
2- cans of Ocean Spray whole cranberries
1 can mandarin oranges drained.

Instructions: Combine the above ingredients. Use a sharp knife to cut the oranges into smaller bits. Stir together well.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR NOVEMBER

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie

Excerpted from: http://www.wow4u.com/qthankfulness/index.html

April 2010 Newsletter

Medical Transcription-Career Prospects are Bright!
by: Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager/Instructor

Many prospective medical transcription students and new MTs are asking the question, “How will speech recognition software affect medical transcriptionist jobs?” More and more electronic medical record programs are incorporating VR (voice/speech recognition) technology into their platform. Don’t worry. There is still plenty of work for MTs because the VR transcript needs a lot of editing. Words that voice recognition will confuse include their, there, they are, etc. Also VR tends to leave words out such as a, the, etc., and it frequently confuses words and medications. Punctuation always needs to be corrected in any VR report as well. To see VR in action there is an interesting webinar for free download here.

Basically how it works is that the MT listens to the audio file as usual, but instead of typing the report from scratch, an already unedited document of the file displays on their screen. The MT listens to the file while reading the unedited document and makes corrections along the way. Corrections include grammar, punctuation, missing words, incorrect formatting, and wrong words. Editing VR reports is faster, obviously, than typing them from scratch. Some MTs spend part of their day doing VR editing and the other part doing straight transcription. This adds variety to the workday.

Students sometimes worry that voice recognition will take over our jobs, but technology is not something to fear. At times technology will change the way we do our jobs, but an intelligent human brain is still needed somewhere in the process. For medical transcription, no amount of automation can replace the need for a thinking person on the other end of the software.

Twenty or so years ago, MTs were still doing MT on typewriters, then on word processors, then computers. Cassette tapes used to be the way dictation was received and played. Then, came the advent of the WAV pedal, which has made transcribing audio so much easier. Today, some doctors are using EMR (electronic medical record) systems with embedded VR technology, and many MTs are typing directly into EMR platforms or are editing VR transcripts in an EMR platform. So, will there be “less” need for MTs in the future? I really don’t think so, because as this technology is taking hold, we also have a generation of baby boomers entering middle age.

The question to ask is: Are doctors LESS busy nowadays? Anyone who has tried to make a medical appointment for a non-urgent situation will clearly agree that doctors are slammed with patients from the moment they enter their office until the moment they leave to go home. As the population ages, there is no sign of any decrease in the need for quality medical care or the need for healthcare personnel. The health and legal fields are pretty recession proof. The Occupational Outlook Handbook feels that the field is stable and growing through 2018. Here is an exact excerpt:

Employment change. Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow by 11 percent from 2008 to 2018, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Demand for medical transcription services will continue to be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive proportionally greater numbers of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that require documentation. A high level of demand for transcription services also will be sustained by the continued need for electronic documentation that can be shared easily among providers, third-party payers, regulators, consumers, and health information systems. Growing numbers of medical transcriptionists will be needed to amend patients’ records, edit documents from speech recognition systems, and identify discrepancies in medical reports.

Contracting out transcription work overseas and advancements in speech recognition technology are not expected to significantly reduce the need for well-trained medical transcriptionists. Outsourcing transcription work abroad—to countries such as India, Pakistan, Philippines, Barbados, and Canada—has grown more popular as transmitting confidential health information over the Internet has become more secure; however, the demand for overseas transcription services is expected only to supplement the demand for well-trained domestic medical transcriptionists. In addition, reports transcribed by overseas medical transcription services usually require editing for accuracy by domestic medical transcriptionists before they meet U.S. quality standards.

Speech recognition technology allows physicians and other health professionals to dictate medical reports to a computer, which immediately creates an electronic document. In spite of the advances in this technology, the software has been slow to grasp and analyze the human voice, the English language, and the medical vernacular with all its diversity. As a result, there will continue to be a need for skilled medical transcriptionists to identify and appropriately edit the inevitable errors created by speech recognition systems and to create a final document.

Job prospects. Job opportunities will be good, especially for those who are certified. Hospitals will continue to employ a large percentage of medical transcriptionists, but job growth will be in other industries. An increasing demand for standardized records should result in rapid employment growth in physicians’ offices, especially in large group practices.

(Excerpted from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos271.htm#outlook)

What Do Medical Coders Do?
Many people are now interested in pursuing healthcare careers because they are virtually recession proof. Medical coding has become a hot career choice in the last few years but some people are unsure of what exactly does a medical coder do.

Medical coders work in doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and even sometimes at home. When a patient sees a doctor, he will dictate what happened during the visit. A medical transcriptionist takes that audio and transcribes it creating the legal document known as the patient medical record. The medical coder then takes that record and abstracts the information needed to send to the insurance company for payment.

The medical coder is looking for the diagnosis, procedures performed during the visit, and any supplies used. Insurance companies use alpha numeric codes to represent the diagnosis, procedures, and supplies. These “codes” are found in reference books such as the ICD 9 CM (contains diagnosis codes for diseases), and the CPT (which contains procedure codes for medical procedures). The medical coder is trained to use these reference materials and/or software to find the appropriate codes to represent the diagnosis, procedures, and supplies.

This sounds relatively easy, but there are other factors to consider such as was the problem caused by an accident, or was it a late effect (effect that happened after another problem). These and other criteria affect how the coder goes about locating the proper codes. Granted, this explanation is rather brief and scaled down but basically outlines how medical coding is done.

Medical coders must have some training in medical terminology to understand how to abstract the information they need from the patient medical record quickly and accurately. They need a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the procedures involved in medical coding itself, and some understanding of health insurance and how it works.

The ideal candidate for a medical coding career is a person who enjoys working with the patient medical record, enjoys doing research, working in a medical setting, and who is detail oriented. It takes about 3-6 months to learn how to code accurately. Jobs are available in local doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, and some coders now work at home. Medical transcriptionists make GREAT medical coders.

Every year the coding reference books are updated, and rules and regulations change frequently, so medical coders are expected to get continuing education through webinars, classes, professional publications, etc. Additionally, there are several options available for coders to become certified. Certification is not always necessary to work in a doctor’s office, but is nearly always required to do hospital coding. Certification is a goal that medical coding students should consider and work toward. The training through Meditec is more than adequate for the student to sit for the AHIMA CCA credentialing exam, and some of our students have gone right into sitting for the CCS exam through AHIMA as well. Meditec’s online medical coding program is comprehensive, interactive, and interesting.

Words of the Month

In both the medical and legal fields, it is important to develop your vocabulary. Each month we will list a few medical and legal words to assist you in building your vocabulary. To make this more interesting for students, the words will be listed below, and the definitions at the bottom of the newsletter. See if you can find the definitions on your own first. Also, it’s a good idea to create a “vocabulary” notebook that is tabbed alphabetically. Good Luck!

Medical Terms:

Oncology Terms:

1. fungating
2. medullary

Legal Terms:

1. codicil
2. Collusion
Interesting Web Sites

Both medical and legal students and new graduates will find these sites interesting and fun. Enjoy!

http://www.law.com – Interesting law site and has a legal dictionary

http://www.mthelpline.com – Has a medical dictionary and a lot of sample medical reports that you can review

Let’s Get Organized

Many adults are looking into online educational training that is self-paced. This type of training is extremely flexible in nature and allows the working adult to study and progress at their own pace. Many of Meditec’s students are working adults, or moms who are at home with children. The many demands in our daily lives can make balancing studying, work, and family very difficult. It can be done though, but it takes thought and organization to make it happen…. smoothly. This article will outline a few tips to assist in organizing your life in a way that will help you to accomplish your goals without sacrificing in other areas of your life.

Tip #1: Make a Schedule- When you have a busy life with many things to do, you can’t just “wing” it and expect everything to work out. Sit down and create a schedule for yourself. Start with when you get up and go through the hours of the day until bedtime. Allow time for household chores, other work you may be required to do, family time, meal times, etc. Then, assess your schedule and see what you can add, delete, and how much time each activity will take. Then, add in your “me” time to study. Some students are only able to schedule in 5 hours a week, but if that is a CONSISTENT 5 hours, it adds up, and brings you closer to your goal. An average amount of study time is approximately 10-15 hours per week. It’s great if you can do more, but don’t feel bad if you have so much going on in your life that 5 hours is all you can spare to reach your goals.

Tip #2: Share Your Intentions- It’s important to share your schedule and intentions with your family and friends, and explain how important getting organized is to you so that you can meet your goals. Friends may need to understand that you are not available to chat on the phone as much as you once were, and maybe you need to make family members understand that you need their help in order to stay on task. For example, maybe family can help with cooking, cleaning, childcare, errands, etc that you used to do but now would like assistance with. Don’t be afraid to request help. Also, always remember to express gratitude for the help you do receive, and always schedule in time to just relax and have fun with your loved ones.

Tip #3: Time Saving Tips- Look for ways to cut down on the time it takes to do particular tasks. For example using a Crockpot to cook a nice family meal cuts down a lot on meal preparation time. If you have a larger home and cleaning is a problem, possibly hiring a neighborhood teenager to assist you would be worth the “spend.”

Tip #4: Don’t Get Discouraged- When first working with a schedule, the tendency is to schedule in too much activity and it’s easy to get sidetracked. Be flexible with your schedule and even try to schedule in some “free” time.

By organizing your time with a schedule, enlisting the help of family and friends, and being flexible, you can meet your personal and career goals without sacrificing the other important areas of your life.

Student Spotlight
Meet new Meditec Student, Jamie F.

“I am a Mom to two little boys. The oldest will be three in April and the younger is 10 months. They tend to keep me pretty busy. I am able to stay home with them and watch them grow. We love to take walks to the park, play outside, and just generally have fun spending time together and watching each other grow. We are getting excited about Spring because we love the outdoors. We are preparing to go camping, boating, and ATV riding. We also enjoy the Spring and Summer weather.

“I became interested in becoming an MT about 2 years ago when we were preparing to have another child. With the cost of daycare I was looking for alternative income. I have a friend who is an MT and she recommended I look into it. Well needless to say I did and I actually graduated from another MT school over a year ago. I have decided to gain more education and experience in the MT field and have chosen Meditec to help me gain this needed experience. One reason for choosing Meditec is the Jump Start internship program that is available. They are the only school that I have found which offers a program like this, and I believe this is much needed experience in this field. I have also found the staff to be wonderful to work with and very approachable. I look forward to working with them in the near future and jumping into the Meditec program.”

Jamie, the staff of Meditec welcomes you. We are looking forward to working with you and assisting you in meeting your career goals. Sincerely, Dawn

Every month we’d like to highlight a Meditec student or graduate of the month. If you are a current Meditec student or graduate and would like to be highlighted in our newsletter, please send a brief introduction about yourself, why you chose the career path that you did, and what made you decide to choose Meditec to DawnM@meditec.com.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR APRIL
Some people are having it a bit tough in this economy, and/or are facing tragic personal circumstances. It’s easy to fall into a negative cycle of thinking during hard times. Using positive affirmations, is a way to change your thoughts and your thinking and to attract better circumstances into your life. Enjoy!

Spring is the time for renewal and positive change, I am attracting great opportunities to myself.
Just like the April showers bring May flowers, I view hard times as only temporary states of being, and the flowers of life are just around the corner.

MEDICAL FUNNIES:
Medical Record Blunders
1. The skin was moist and dry.

2. Rectal exam revealed a normal size thyroid. (Long fingers?)

3. The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

4. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until 1989 when she got a divorce.

ANSWERS TO WORDS OF THE MONTH
Medical Terms:
Oncology Terms
1. fungating- Mushrooming pattern of growth in which tumor cells pile one on top of another and project from a tissue surface.
2. medullary- Pertaining to large, soft, fleshy tumors.

Legal Terms:
1. codicil- A supplement or addition to a will, not necessarily disposing of the entire estate but modifying, explaining, or otherwise qualifying the will in some way.
2. collusion- An agreement between two or more persons to defraud another or to obtain something forbidden by law.

New Year – A time for Change?

Volume 5, Issue 1

The only thing constant about life is change. Life is always evolving, shifting, changing and providing new opportunities … and sometimes obstacles to overcome. As parents we stress the value of “life planning” to our children. We want them to start thinking about colleges and careers when they are in high school. However, as adults, it isn’t hard to fall into a rut with our own lives, not thinking about the opportunities ahead, perhaps feeling that we are helpless to make changes ourselves, maybe too old, not enough time or money. But with the new year, it’s time to take a moment, assess where we are and look at the world of infinite possibilities.

Why not go back to school? In our current troubled economy, some feel that going back to school is a costly expense that could/should wait for better times. On the other hand, in a distressed economy a wider, more marketable set of job skills is money in the bank. At Meditec, we see more and more career seekers make the choice to train for a new career or cross-train from an existing one. Some may already have “good-enough” jobs, but due to the uncertainty of our economy, they see the
value of expanding into a medical or legal career – for a better income and as a hedge against future economic shifts. Both fields have been almost recession-proof for many, many years.

Economically, stay-at-home mothers are looking at ways to add some income to the family budget but still don’t want to work outside the home, and medical transcription is a marvelous way to do that.

It’s never too late to change your life. Meditec will help you do that, providing great training over relative short periods of time, all at home, with excellent payment plans and helpful financial aid advisors to assist with funding.

So, as we move into the new year, ask yourself what changes should you be considering this year? If you are thinking of a career change, expanding on your current career, or exploring work at home opportunities, take that step forward and make it happen, and within a few months you will be enjoying the benefits of your decision.

Something New at Meditec!!!
MEDITEC IS NOW ON FACEBOOK AND BLOGGER
Meditec now has pages on both Facebook and Blogger! On both pages you will find unadvertised specials on our products, services, and programs. Additionally, we will have interesting industry specific articles, news, and career information. We intend to have new medical terms, quizzes, and games for our students and for new MTs. Please join us! The links are below!

FaceBook
Blogger

Medical Coding & Billing- FAST growing Career
Contributed by Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager and Instructor

Right now and through 2018 medical coding and billing are considered good career paths with many jobs available. The 2010 Occupational Outlook Handbook states the following:

“Employment change. Employment of medical records and health information technicians is expected to increase by 20 percent, much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018. Employment growth will result from the increase in the number of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that will be performed. As the population continues to age, the occurrence of health-related problems will increase. Cancer registrars should experience job growth as the incidence of cancer increases from an aging population.”
SOURCE: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocoS103.htm#outlook.

What do coders and billers do?

Medical coders take the patient medical record and find the procedures that were performed during a medical visit and also add the diagnosis as the reason for the visit. They find these codes using special reference books and/or software. Then the coded record goes to the medical biller, who inputs on a computer the demographics and the selected codes which are then billed to the proper payer for reimbursement.

Medical coders need an understanding of basic medical terminology and anatomy, and a thorough knowledge of medical coding procedures, rules, and regulations. The medical biller must have a thorough knowledge of health insurance policies, laws, and the software necessary to perform the work quickly and efficiently. Medical coders and billers work in doctors’ offices, clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, or even for insurance, billing companies and auditors. Some even work from home by starting their own medical coding and billing service.

Keeping up to date on code changes.

The medical coding process and the resultant codes drive the entire reimbursement process. Your office’s revenue and reimbursement rely on how accurately you are able to apply the appropriate CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS codes, and follow regulatory guidelines. That’s no easy feat when you also have to be aware of the periodic updates and modifiers which eliminate, change or add new codes to both CPT and ICD-9. Coders and other administrative staff monitor the updates and train staff to implement the changes. Medicaid and Medicare (and other practice contract insurers) provide updates to the practice by bulletin and with online information. In addition, coding conferences are often available regionally and are a good way to get tips and discover any new compliance issues.

Meditec and its affiliates also provide CEUs to assist with whatever your credentials may require.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR JANUARY
Contributed by Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager and Instructor

As our economy is slowly recovering, many people still struggle some to get by. When things get tough, it’s easy to lose perspective and fall into a negative cycle of thinking. This process keeps that negative cycle fueled with energy and ongoing. Remembering to take a moment and align thoughts with positivity, faith, hope, and compassion. Give some thought to these quotes.

“Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.”
Herbert Otto

“Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force.”
Tom Blandi

“Remember, all the answers you need are inside of you; you only have to become quiet enough to hear them.”
Debbie Ford

SOURCE – Excerpted from: http://www.motivateus.com/cust.htm

Medical Funnies:

Waiting Room Conversation
In a psychiatrist’s waiting room two patients are having a conversation. One says to the other, “Why are you here?”

The second answers, “I’m Napoleon, so the doctor told me to come here.”

The first is curious and asks, “How do you know that you’re Napoleon?”

The second responds, “God told me I was.”

At this point, a patient on the other side of the room shouts, “NO I DIDN’T!”

SOURCE: http://www.medicalhumor.net/

This Month’s Recipes
Contributed by Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager and Instructor

Southern Tradition – For Good Luck in the New Year, you must have Black-Eyed Peas!

Black-Eyed Peas and Cornbread
-2 bags of dried black-eyed peas
-1 bag of frozen okra (optional)
-1 bag of frozen green peppers
-1 bag of frozen onions
-1 can diced tomatoes (large can)
-1 bag of Marie Callendar’s Corn Bread Mix (The Mexican kind is great!)
-Salt pork
-Ham pieces or 1 jar of (REAL) bacon bits
-Salt/Pepper to taste

HINT: It’s even better if you toss in your left-over Ham Bone from Christmas!

Directions:
Wash beans and pick out any bad ones. Boil Okra to get the “slimy” off of it. Combine dried beans, green peppers, onions, diced tomatoes, and okra, 4 or 5 pieces of salt pork, and the ham or bacon bits in Crockpot. Add a few cups of water (we are not making “soup” so only add enough water to cover the beans). You do NOT need to soak the beans beforehand. Crockpot on high for 4 or 5 hours. When beans are tender, it’s done. Drain liquid. Make the Cornbread (the Mari Callendar’s brand uses only water). Enjoy! Black-eyed peas and cornbread are a New Year’s favorite!

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Medical Transcription – The Reality

By: Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager

Medical transcription students, New MTs, and seasoned MTs all need to keep in mind the importance of research, verification, and certainty when transcribing the patient medical record. Instructors/editors who receive reports by an MT student or beginner who simply “typed what they thought they heard” can be frustrating. It is pretty much evident from the transcription itself, if research was done, words and spelling were verified, and some degree of certainty was obtained. You can’t really be lazy and try to succeed with MT.

Some may view medical transcription as a way to “get rich quick” or “work at home with my 10 kids.” The reality is much different. The fact is that medical transcription is not easy to learn and it takes time to build both speed, efficiency, and accuracy. The newly working MT’s primary goal is not to try to make X amount the first few weeks. If that is the main goal, it might well be reflected in producing less than good work with potential errors that validate insufficient research. The primary goal should be to provide the very best work one is capable of doing, no matter how long it takes. If this approach is adopted, the money will eventually follow. Many women (and men) DO have young children at home and still make a successful career out of MT, but it may not be easy. They schedule work round their children and their needs, and this sometimes makes a very long day.

Some new MTs go into their first job assignment with a wish list for the MTSO (Medical Transcription Service Owner), like wanting to work x hours on x days and noting they cannot work during x time because their child eats lunch then. These new MTs are under the illusion that this scheduling is easy to work out. No service owner is going to want a new MT with that attitude or wish list. They want a new MT who says “I’ll do whatever it takes to get up to speed on your accounts accurately and efficiently. I’ll work the hours you need, and I’ll figure out childcare on my end.” This is the proper attitude for a new MT. Yes, down the road, this career field can offer much flexibility when one no longer needs QA help and has built the speed and accuracy needed for the job. However, it is important to understand that the first 3 to 6 months on the job, a newbie is going to “pay their dues” by working really hard, making a little money, and researching, verifying, and being certain of everything. The new MT will need to verify such things as the capitalization of drugs, spelling of even common drugs, medical procedures, proper headings, and lab tests, for instance. Terminology associated with the specialty one is typing will need to be verified with appropriate references, and all of this takes time, dedication, and attention to detail.

Medical transcription is not a career for everyone, nor is it easy, and it is not a get rich quick avenue. It is a wonderful career choice, and after one has moved through the “learning curve.” It can be flexible and enjoyable. If you enjoy learning ever expanding information about medicine, and you don’t mind research, verifying information, and being certain of what you transcribe, then MT could be an ideal career choice for you with the perk of being able to work at home, having suitable tax deductions, and some flexibility in your daily schedule.

SOMETHING NEW at Meditec!!!
MEDITEC IS NOW ON FACEBOOK AND BLOGGER:

Meditec now has pages on both Facebook and Blogger! On both pages you will find unadvertised specials on our products, services, and programs. Additionally, we will have interesting industry specific articles, news, and career information. We intend to have new medical terms, quizzes, and games as well for our students and new MTs. Please join us! The links are below!

FaceBook

Blogger

Medical Coding- Ongoing Education
There was a great article in the BC Advantage magazine Oct/Nov issue about on-going education being the final piece of compliance. The article stated that above and beyond compliance plans, policies, and chart auditing, that ongoing education is a very important component of any compliance plan.

Some great on-going education options that were discussed were utilizing Medicare bulletins, seminars, coding certification courses, coding and reimbursement newsletters, society meetings, Internet, and tests. Even the idea of creating your own inter-office tests on compliance policies and procedures was discussed. In addition to these ideas, rewarding office staff for coming up with better ideas, policies, and adhering to them is a wonderful way to increase compliance. Rewards can be a gift card, a small gift, or even a paid day off. Motivating office staff to adhere to the compliance plan is an important duty of any office manager. Motivators can be employee meetings, rewards, and having an open door policy to discuss problems, issues, and office concerns.

Working in the medical coding and billing career field entails keeping up with current laws, rules, and regulations. Continuing and ongoing education is imperative to maintain compliance and to reduce the rejection of claims.

Starting A Home Based Business? – Avoid These 6 Costly Blunders:
A lot of people would like to start an internet home based business. However, many people do not know where to start.

Starting a home based business can be overwhelming and confusing for the inexperienced. The fact that there are a lot of ‘business opportunities’ on the internet does not make it any easier.

You can easily succeed with your home based business if you just avoid some common mistakes which people make.

So what are some of the common mistakes that people who are starting a home based business usually make?

No plans and objectives. A lot of people try to start a business with no plan, a very costly mistake. It is important to take the necessary time and effort to plan the business and clearly state the objectives you intend to achieve. Some people start their home based business like a hobby and treat it like one. Do not expect to make millions with your online home based business if you treat it like a hobby.

Reinventing the wheel. Some people starting a home based business make their learning curves very hard and long. The Internet is full of proven money making business models. You can succeed easily by identifying the business type that you would like to have your home based business focused on, try to find someone who has succeeded with that business and learn from them, and duplicate what they have done to succeed. It is also important to have the necessary support network, which can be a relevant forum where you can learn more about running your home based business successfully.

Thinking that you can make money overnight. This is a common misconception which people have, which is also the reason why many people fail and give up easily. Your online home based business is like any other business – you will need to apply the necessary effort and dedication to make it work.

Believing that your online home based business doesn’t need any capital. This is another very common misconception. If you think you can start and develop a home based business without spending a dime, you are misleading yourself. Be prepared to spend some money to get all the resources you will need to develop your business. Although it varies with the type of the home based business you want to set up, you would need some initial resources that you have to invest in the business. This can be for setting up your website, just as an example. You may also need to buy some resources to make your online home based business fully set up.

No market study before creating a product or starting the business, another very common mistake. For your home based business to succeed, you will need to have a market for whatever you will be offering. Demand for your products is the most important factor that determines the success of your home based business. A market study on the current market size and future potential of the product or service is therefore very important.

Lacking focus and commitment. Your online business will need a lot of effort for it to succeed, especially during the first two years. You must therefore be prepared to give your business your total commitment.

If you avoid the 6 mistakes outline above, you will succeed with your home based business. Best idea to get it done right: ORDER YOUR HOMEBIZBOOK, a marvelous planner and how-to book right here at www.meditec.com [Scroll Down On the Shopping Cart Page to HomeBiz General Industry or HomeBiz Medical Industry. The HomeBiz books are $39.95.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ – Free Articles Directory

About the Author:
Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His “Top Ranked” (http://www.24hourwealth.com/) Earn Money at Home Directory gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your own Internet Home Based Business.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR DECEMBER
By: Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager

As our economy is slowly recovering, many people are finding it still difficult to get by. When things get tough, it’s easy to lose our perspective and fall into a negative cycle of thinking. This nearly always keeps that negative cycle fueled with energy and ongoing. Remembering to take a moment and align our thoughts with positivity, faith, hope, and compassion can help us weather life’s storms. Whereas we were not promised a rose garden of life, but we do not have to bask in thorns day in and day out. Seek to find your own inner joy!

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-24-2006-94315.asp

MEDICAL FUNNIES:

A well-respected surgeon was relaxing on his sofa one evening just after arriving home from work.
As he was tuning in to the evening news, the phone rang. The doctor calmly answered it and heard the familiar voice of a colleague on the other end of the line.
“We need a fourth for poker,” said the friend.
“I’ll be right over,” whispered the doctor. As he was putting on his coat, his wife asked, “Is it serious?”
“Oh yes, quite serious,” said the doctor gravely.
“In fact, three doctors are there already!”

Source: http://www.medijokes.com/hospital-patients.php

This Month’s Recipes
By: Dawn Moreno, Meditec Program Manager

Cranberry-Orange Sauce: Quick and Easy
-2 Cans Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
-1 Can Mandarin Oranges- drained

Simply mix together w/ a spoon. This is fast, easy, and very good.

No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
-1 Graham-Cracker Pie Crust
-1 Tub of Cool Whip
-1 Can Pumpkin
-1 Package of softened Cream Cheese
-1/2 Cup Sugar
-1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix ingredients together w/ a mixer and put into pie shell. Chill for 3 hours before serving.