HHectic

Phew....last few months have been a little hectic.  Apart from my work, I am also doing DIFA which stands for Diploma in Indian and Foreign Accounting, at the end of which I will be eligible to also appear for IAB level 3 examination.  Also I have to appear for 4 papers in my Masters examination scheduled for next month.  All this have resulted in a mad scramble which has left me with very little time for MT diary, but I will be back next month with my MT findings...:)

Pink, blue, and white sheet

In psychiatry files, one usually comes across scenarios where it is dictated that patient was pink sheeted or blue sheeted! What exactly is the principle behind this pink sheet or blue sheet or white sheet?  I searched the web and came across Eric Tadehara's blog where he had described this in his own jocular way. The gist of which is, in case of a pink sheeted patient, the admission is involuntary and the form is filled out by doctor or any other medical professional and they are placed in residential setting for a specified number of hours.  The only difference between pink and blue is that blue sheet is filled by a law enforcement officer and white sheet is for commitment hearing and filed so that patient may be held until seen in court.

Sound alike list

I have been thinking of making a sound-alike list of late.  It will serve as a guide to newbies in this profession and also a database to those active...I have started recording them now seriously...yesterday I got one....heard "strict 9 overdose", was actually strychnine overdose.


Thank you

HELLP??

February being a 28-day month had left me with no other option, but to work both mornings and evenings.  As like always, I found a lot of words, terms, procedures, but could not blog about it immediately, anyway managed to keep a log of all of them and will try blogging about at least some of them as and when time permits.....


I got this term "HELLP syndrome" in an OB-GYN file....The acronym HELLP disguises a very serious complication, which if not diagnosed early, can prove to be quite serious.


HELLP syndrome is a group of symptoms which occur in pregnant women and stands for


H:  Hemolysis (breakage of red blood cells)
EL: Elevated liver enzymes.
LP:  Low platelet count.


HELLP syndrome is the complication arising out of preeclampsia and eclampsia.


More info about this serious condition can be had from here and here.


HELLP symptoms can also lead to misdiagnosis such as hepatitis, gallbladder disease, ITP or TTP.


Although there is no way to prevent HELLP syndrome, early prenatal care can help the care provider to find and treat the symptoms before they get out of hand...

Gravida and Para

In Ob-Gyn files, we usually come across this term Gx Py-a-b-c.  Here it has been explained in simple yet clear manner.


Suppose I say patient is G10 P 7-2-1-9, it means that patient has had 10 pregnancies out of which 7 were full term (y), 2 were premature (a), 1 was abortion/miscarriage/ectopic pregnancy (b), and 9 is the number of living children that patient has (c).


thnx

The "f" sound

A TAT to beat, a no blank status file with 3 blanks, all 3 same word....sounds familiar?? Yeah this is what happened to me yesterday.  The only problem was that I was clearly hearing the blank/word which was a drug name, but what I heard was naphazoline, which is a Adrenergic Agonist Agent, where as dictator was clearly stating that he is adding another antibiotic to clindamycin which the patient was already taking, so this drug was an antibiotic, which naphazoline was clearly not.  Then I remembered that apart from "ph", the letter "f" also produces "f" sound...:)...and there there....I found it....nafcillin..so simple...yeah..some times simple things are hard to decipher....


An MT transcribes what he/she hears, but relying only on hearing can be a dangerous path to follow as it can lead to very dangerous pits, it is always best to search for references from reliable sources, of whatever words one comes across.  If there is any confusion regarding drugs, it is always prudent to check the medication usage,category, and dosage.


One more thing I will like to add regarding cracking blanks is never guess....you may be forced by people higher up to reduce the blanks or produce blankless documents, but what you must remember is "if in spite of your best efforts you are unable to crack a blank, then leave it as it as, but go through the QA version and make sure the next time, this word never escapes you."  This has been the golden rule that I have followed from the first day that I started transcribing, it has held me in good stead over all these years, and I am sure so will be you...

Cheerful and upset

Yesterday while doing a psychiatry file, I kept hearing this, "The patient is cheerful and upset."  The patient had psychosis and it was also said that she was very cooperative, so I guessed may be what the dictator meant was that patient was acting cheerful although she was really upset,..but I could not find even a single reference for such a case with my under trial ammo and my time tested ammo.  Then it suddenly came like a flash...I felt like kicking myself....it was the word tearful, which was also logical, and actually this is a quite common usage in psychiatry files....


Speaking about psychiatry....in psychiatry files, in the Impression/Assessment part, dictator sometime says DSM IV which is an acronym for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, 4th edition.  More info can be had from here.


For the past 2 days, I am getting psychiatry files, and I do not know if that is a general rule, but I find that most psychiatry dictators are good...(at least in my account) may their tribe increase......:)