I have a friend who works as a transcriptionist. She blogs and occasionally talks about her work. However, she talks about the business side of her work: how much she makes per line, how she can’t understand what the doctor is saying, how she has to undergo QI, etc. One thing she’s never mentioned is if she ever takes the time to think about what she’s transcribing.I’m currently on rotation with a group that dictates their H&P’s along with their assessments and plans. After a day or two of dictation (which by the way I hate to do because I can’t stand the sound of my own voice) I started to wonder if transcriptionists laugh at some of the content in dictations or if they’re like mailmen who deliver postcards without reading the back. I know I sometimes chuckle when I get the transcribed note back to sign for the chart… especially when I read things like:
“Patient states they have been constipated for a whole month.”
“87 year old patient states she fell off a chair while painting her ceiling. She states her bridge club was coming over and didn’t want them to see a brown water spot that was on it.”
“Patient states that she has vomited several times. The last emesis looked like blood, or it could have been the cranberry juice she had been drinking just prior.”
“Patient denies any alcohol, tobacco or drug use, except for the occasional marijuana use whenever her son is in town.”
“Patient states he thought his abscess was due to an ingrown hair, so he shaved off his all the hair in his axilla thinking it would go away.”
“Patient presents asking for Tamiflu because “there’s a lot of sick people hanging around the grocery store.”"
Did I really dictate that…? Yep, patients say the funniest things…
p.s. ;) Betty this is for you...
