Medical Transcription Common Queries

Hi,
Here is a ready reckoner for the common medical-transcription-related doubts we face daily. To start with, I have put in just a few but hope to cover more issues. Please use the "Comments" link to post any suggestions or any queries you feel should be included. Note, each and every entry is cross-checked from reliable sources before posting. I shall try my best to regularly update the site with any suggestions or new queries posted by visitors. Thanx.

• Regularly irregular
  Irregularly irregular
  (Last word should always be irregular)
  
  
  
• When dictated "Tylenol #2 or #3...," it cannot be written with a hash (#) because here the number indicates a particular type of Tylenol; but in case of other drugs, we need to use a hash (#) because there it means the quantity of tablets.
  
  Tylenol No. 2 = Tylenol with Codeine 15 mg
  Tylenol No. 3 = Tylenol with Codeine 30 mg
  Tylenol No. 4 = Tylenol with Codeine 60 mg
  
  
  
• Chvostek sign (sounds like Swastik sign). Facial spasm, etc. See Stedmans.
  
  
  
• Dimensions:
  
  mass measures 2 x 3 x 4 cm
  mass measures 2 x 4 cm
  a 2 x 4-inch mass
  a 2 x 4 cm mass (per latest BOS, no hyphens needed for metric units)
  mass measures 2 to 3 cm
  a 2 to 3 cm mass
  a 2- to 3-inch mass
  
  
  
• Acapella ® valve (with CPAP, nebulizers, etc.)
  
  
  
• Nitrites versus nitrates. Remember nitrite contains "i" and urine also contains "i"
  
  Nitrites ---> urine/urinalysis
  Nitrates ---> Cardiac drug

• Diatx tablets.

• SMOG enema (soap, mineral oil, glycerin)

• BI-RADS ® category 0 to 5 [all caps with hyphen, categories in arabic, even though Stedman Abbrev shows as one word] Please see http://www.birads.at/
  However, different accounts may have different preferences.see www.birads.at
  
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• gegenhalten = involuntary muscle contractions. Small case, german word, not eponym, see Neuro Stedman.
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• Hexavitamin is typed an initial caps, brandname according to http://www.luhs.org/HEALTH/kbase/htm/mdx-/qudr/343/mdx-qudr343.htm
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• Immigration Vs Emigration. The prefix e- means "out of" or "from." The prefix im- means "in" or "into." Therefore, emigrate means "to move out of" and immigrate means "to move into." E.g., They emigrated from China and immigrated to USA
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• TAXUS stent see the manufacturer's website http://www.bostonscientific.com/med_specialty/deviceDetail.jsp?task=tskBasicDevice.jsp§ionId=4&relId=2,74,75,76&deviceId=11013&uniqueId=MPDB3622
  
  
• Intertrochanteric fracture, NOT intratrochanteric, even though Stedman Ortho shows both. Original Stedman and Google indicates that it will be intertrochanteric fracture, related to femur.
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• QUOTE MARKS:

  Periods and commas: Inside the quotation marks

  Colons and semicolons: Outside the quotation marks

  Question marks and exclamation points:
  (a) Inside if the question or exclamation is part of the quotation.
  (b) Outside if the question or exclamation is not part of the quotation

• Cigarettes: pack-year history.
  
  "It is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. For example, 1 pack year is equal to smoking 1 pack per day for 1 year, or 2 packs per day for half a year, and so on"
  
  Example: If a person smokes 30 cigarettes a day for 40 years, then we would calculate as follows:
  
  30 Cigarettes a day = 1.5 packs a day (20 cigarettes in a pack)
  
  1.5 x 40yrs = 60 pack years
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Search for EVERYTHING here ---> http://disc.server.com/Indices/195764.html

FDA Orange Book for new drugs -----> http://www.fda.gov/cder/ob/default.htm

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