Typing Narratives

[94H]

In the hopes of not getting a nasty email from billing about my sloppy handwriting I was thinking about typing up my narratives and appending them to my trip sheets.

The only thing I am worried about are any possible HIPAA violations. Do you guys know any?

Does anyone else type up their narratives (and do paper trip sheets)?

 

[feldy]

i would say ask a supervisor or billing dept.

 

[Sassafras]

Ummmm, can't help you since oure narratives get typed into a state wide database...pretty sure that's not a HIPAA violation so why would typing them be? You can always print and delete or put them in a password protected file on your computer if you need to save them.

 

[akflightmedic]

Good question, definitely ask billing or your QA officer or HIPAA compliance designated officer. I have horrible handwriting, however I have not had to write a report on paper since about 1998 or so, as that was when we went computer based and every agency I worked for since then has been computer based.

 

[medicdan]

I wonder if you were to write a "generic" narrative-- for transfers, for example, whether that would be acceptable? Also keep in mind "Push hard, you're writing in triplicate"-- making enough copies to paste on to the various copies of your version.
How were you hoping to type it? On your personal laptop, and print at the hospital? At the end of the day? Think about how you are going to provide the hospital with a narrative...

 

[Mufasa556]

I have terrible handwriting. I started writing in all caps and that helped immensely.

 

[94H]

I wonder if you were to write a "generic" narrative-- for transfers, for example, whether that would be acceptable? Also keep in mind "Push hard, you're writing in triplicate"-- making enough copies to paste on to the various copies of your version.
How were you hoping to type it? On your personal laptop, and print at the hospital? At the end of the day? Think about how you are going to provide the hospital with a narrative...

I know that there are people at my company who have generic narratives written up for transfers. I'm assuming then that its acceptable, but they put it into the PCR's done on the computer.

I was going to just type it up on my netbook while posting at a location.

As for the Hospital question, we dont provide copies of the PCR to the hospital, I usually just bring a blank one in and have the nurse sign it for transfer of care

 

[mcdonl]

We have a state wide system here as well... and it states clearly that you can only open and print reports at the hospital, or at your service. Printing and having a copy of a narrative anywhere but those two places could be a violation. As everyone else says... check with your service chief.