Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting - Amazon S3 · letters . Title: Slide 1 Author: Thomas Dunn Created Date: 5/15/2016 12:46:57 AM

Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting

Administrative and Clinical Competencies

CHAPTER

THIRD EDITION

Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 3/e Beaman | Routh | Papazian-Boyce | Sesser | Mills | Maly

Copyright © 2015, 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Written Communication Lesson 1: Written Communications in the Medical Office

11



Lesson Objectives

Lesson Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define and spell the terms to learn for this chapter.

2. Name and describe standard components of a business letter.

3. Identify the eight parts of speech and use them correctly.



Lesson Objectives

Lesson Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to:

4. Describe the process of drafting correspondence, using the four letter styles.

5. Explain the process of proofreading and editing.



Tone of Letter Writing

• Letters from a medical office must be:

Professional

Courteous

Businesslike

Positive in tone

Protective of the confidentiality of physician and patient

Diplomatic



Critical Thinking Question

1. How might word choice affect what is being communicated in a letter?



Grammar and Word Choice

• Appropriate word choice includes:

Avoiding technical terms

Gender bias

Overly long sentences and paragraphs

Excessive use of the personal pronoun I

Incorrectly used abbreviations

Passive voice




• When writing to medical professionals or institutions that employ medically trained staff, use of medical terminology is appropriate, and it is essential that spelling and usage of medical terms are accurate

• When writing to patients, medical terminology should not be used




• Medical Terms

Carcinoma

Dermatitis

Leukocytes

Nephrosis

Otolaryngology

pc

Thrombus

• Synonyms

Cancer

Skin irritation

White blood cells

Kidney disease

Study of ear, nose, and throat

After meals

Blood clot




• Removing Gender Bias

Any reference to a particular gender (male or female) eliminated

Written correspondence must reflect neutral bias toward the genders

Do not refer to physicians as males or to nurses and medical assistants as females



Critical Thinking Questions

1. How is gender bias shown in written communication?

2. What is the impact of gender bias and how can it be avoided?




• Sentence and Paragraph Length

Short, concise sentences and paragraphs are preferred in medical writing

Sentence length should never exceed 20 words




• Sentence and Paragraph Length

Eliminate unnecessary words

Each paragraph should cover only one point

Paragraph contains two to six sentences




• Avoid the use of the personal pronoun I in professional writing

• Better to use you and we

• Avoid being redundant

• Inflated phrases can be eliminated without loss of meaning




• Active Versus Passive Voice

Active voice: the subject of the sentence performs the action

Passive voice: the subject receives the action

Both voices are grammatically correct,

Active voice more effective because it is simpler, more direct, and less wordy




• Spelling

Homophones: same sounds

Computer software programs cannot be depended on to correct all word usage errors

Medical terms are not, generally, recognized by spellcheck software

Have a hard copy medical dictionary available




• Rules for Capitalization

First word of:

• Sentences

• Expressions used as sentences

• Each item in a list or outline

• Salutation and closing of a letter

Proper name of person, place, or thing

Noun that is part of a proper name




• Plurals

Abbreviations are formed into plurals by adding an s (ECGs, DRGs)

Plurals of nouns are formed by adding an s or an es (physicians, suffixes)




• Numbers

Numbers 1 to 10 are spelled out

For numbers greater than ten, acceptable to use number designation, as in 32, unless the number is at the beginning of the sentence

Only numbers (including 1–10) used in tables, statistical data, dates, money, percentages, and time




• Numbers

Measurements: write out in figures (23 inches)

Percentages: write out in figures and spell out percent (20 percent)




• Numbers

Tables

• Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) aligned on the right

• Decimals (1.33) aligned on the decimal

• Roman numerals (I, II, III) aligned on the left




• Numbers

Time:

• Do not use zeros when writing on the-hour time

• Use a.m. and p.m. with the time designation




• Parts of Speech

Noun

Pronoun

Verb

Adjective

Adverb

Preposition

Conjunction

Interjection




• Many words function as more than one part of speech




• Abbreviations

Spelled out first time they appear in a document, with abbreviation in parentheses

On subsequent uses, abbreviation can be used alone

Spell out medical abbreviations for clarity




• Error Correction

All correspondence should be error-free

Word processing allows writer to display document on computer screen, enter the information, and make necessary changes

When typewriters used, corrections require use of correction ribbons, tapes, fluids




• Reference Materials

Desk dictionary and online dictionary

Medical dictionary and online medical dictionary

Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)

Current coding books including CPT®-4 and ICD-10-CM

Thesaurus and online thesaurus



Formatting Correspondence

• Standard Components of Business Letter

Heading

Date

Inside address

Salutation




• Standard Components of Business Letter

Body

Closing

Reference initials

Special components




• Heading

Medical office letters usually typed on letterhead, which is stationery bearing name of physician or practice, address, telephone number, fax number

• Date

Correspondence must have current date

Placed three lines below letterhead



FIGURE 11-1 Different letterhead stationery and envelopes.




• Inside Address

Name, title, company name, address of recipient of the correspondence

Typed at left margin and single-spaced

All words spelled out fully

Business courtesy recommends always including a title with receiver’s name on inside address




• Salutation

Courteous greeting

Typed at left margin, two lines below inside address

Name in salutation must agree with name in inside address




• Body

Main text of letter and conveys purpose of letter

Begins two lines below salutation and single spaced

Paragraphs either blocked or indented

Be clear and to the point



Guidelines for Using Courtesy Titles

• Mr. is always an appropriate title for men

• A professional title, such as MD or PhD, is used instead of the courtesy title

• Ms. is used when marital status of a woman is unknown

• Mrs. is appropriate for a married woman if she prefers that title. However, it is always safe to use Ms.




• Miss appropriate for unmarried women who prefer that title; also for young girls

• Two people at same address with different last names addressed individually




• A capitalized professional title, such as Owner, President, Manager, may be placed next to the name or below it, depending on which is a better balance




• If there is no record of correct spelling of a receiver’s name, then call the company or office and ask for the correct spelling




• Closing

Complimentary close containing a courtesy word(s), such as “Sincerely,” “Sincerely yours,” or “Yours truly”

Two lines below end of body of letter

Signature line contains name and title of the writer

Handwritten signature of writer must be entered directly above typed signature line




• Reference Initials

Indicate who keyed or typed the letter

Placed at lower left margin in lowercase

• Enclosure Notation

When other documents included along with the letter, a notation is made on the letter indicating the enclosure




• Copy Notation

Bottom left of letter as letter(s) “c:” or “cc:”




• Two-Page Letter

Letterhead stationery used only for top sheet

Second sheet plain bond paper

Second page and any pages following must begin with date and subject line of letter



Composing a Business Letter

• Gather necessary information and supplies.

• Determine reason for the correspondence. Write down the main purpose of the letter.

• Make a list of the points you need to cover in the letter. Prepare a rough draft.




• Arrange ideas in a logical manner. Make sure the letter has a beginning, middle, and end.

• Use a natural style of writing.




• Use a positive tone.

• Pay particular attention to spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

• When rough draft is satisfactory, compose final draft of letter. Proofread for mistakes.

• Obtain necessary signatures. Include any enclosures as indicated.




• Form Letters

When the same letter is sent once or repeatedly to multiple recipients, a form letter can save time

Contains standard content used repeatedly

Personalized with the patient’s information



FIGURE 11-2 A form letter is used when the same letter is sent to multiple recipients.




• Letter Styles

Physical appearance of the letter

Vary depending on the purpose

Four letter styles:

• Block

• Modified block (standard)

• Modified block with indented paragraphs

• Simplified



Letter Styles

• Block Style

Formatted with all lines, from date through the signature line, flush with left margin

Blank line separates paragraphs as well as inside address, salutation, body, close

No indentations for paragraphs

Saves typing time



Letter Styles

• Modified Block Style (Standard)

Style, date, complimentary closing, signature line begin at center and continue toward right margin

All other lines flush with left margin

Often preferred because it has a professional, neat appearance



Letter Styles

• Modified Block Style with Indented Paragraphs

Identical to modified block style except paragraphs are consistently indented by a designated amount



Letter Styles

• Simplified Style

All lines flush with left margin

Salutation line omitted

In its place is a subject line in capital letters

Complimentary closing omitted

Signature typed in all capital letters

Abbreviated style of writing letters relating to patients



Interoffice Memoranda

• Also called memos

• Written communications sent to people within office or organization

• Informs personnel about meetings, general changes that affect employees, special projects, news items

• Do not require postage and are delivered through interoffice mail route



FIGURE 11-4 An example of a memo form.



Editing and Proofreading

• Editing

Read the final material to check for accuracy and clarity

Read the letter from point of view of recipient to be sure you have explained yourself clearly and courteously

When editing medical reports, you cannot change content of report or alter the meaning in any way



Editing and Proofreading

• Proofreading

Rereading of a document to check for errors in content and keying

Critical step in correspondence process to help ensure accuracy

Spell-check and grammar-checks done by the computer are not perfect

After printing out a document, read it carefully to catch any content or keying errors



Questions?

Documents

Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting - Amazon S3 · letters . Title: Slide 1 Author: Thomas Dunn Created Date: 5/15/2016 12:46:57 AM