RE: Re: Documentation Ink question

[Guest guest]

Tom,

I have always respected and admired your posts on this listserv, however I

have to take exception with this one. In spite of history and what has been

done in the past or what might be done in the future there is TOO much

regulation, TOO many laws, and TOO many rules and regs. There is no way

that anybody can follow all of these that are set by the various entities

that regulate our business, our industry, our lives and our livelihoods!

Do we need them? Yes, absolutely, to a point, but I think the point was

about the color of ink that we use and Dr. Ball had suggested writing a

rule/regulation/policy and adhering to the policy. It just seems a little

absurd to have to write a policy and a rule or regulation for the color of

ink that one chooses to utilize on a daily basis (thank God for the EMR-I

don't have to write a policy for this one). No offense Dr. Ball.

We have become a society that is so concerned about rules and regulations

that we no longer can or will provide what is needed or required by our

patients at times due to these rules and regs in spite of it being in their

best interest. Please don't respond asking me for examples, etc. I don't

have the time to get in to a debate on this issue nor do I care to beyond

this post. I am just tired of having to have a lawyer, an accountant, a

consultant, an advisor, etc. to check in with before I choose to do anything

different within my business anymore. OK-off my soapbox and back to work!

Just in case anyone missed Dr. Dommerholt's post and attached link-here it

is and it is a very good read! Thanks for posting this Dave and Jan.

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Common-Sense-Suffocating-America/dp/0812982746/r

ef=sr_1_1?s=books

<http://www.amazon.com/Death-Common-Sense-Suffocating-America/dp/0812982746/

ref=sr_1_1?s=books & ie=UTF8 & qid=1341579245 & sr=1-1 & keywords=death+of+common+se

nse> & ie=UTF8 & qid=1341579245 & sr=1-1 & keywords=death+of+common+sense

Working. Better. Together

Ric A. Baird, DPT, ATC

www.interactiveptandfitness.com

www.ipt.tsfl.com

Interactive Physical Therapy and Fitness Center

3405 NW Hunters Ridge Terrace

Suite 300

Topeka, KS 66618

(P)

(F)

Interactive Physical Therapy

1707 SE 29th Street

Suites 300-400

Topeka, KS 66605

(P)

(F)

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Tom Howell, P.T., M.P.T.

Sent: Friday, July 06, 2012 12:19 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Re: Documentation Ink question

Hi everyone,

You want a Friday rant, we here's mine. I am sick and tired of the bashing

of having too much regulation. If you want to bash anyone, bash those

that took advantage of the time when there was no regulation or less

regulation and did harm to all of us through fraud and abuse.

The regulatory bodies out there only react to those situations in ways to

protect the essence of what we do. They are not the ones at fault. To go

back to the days of no regulation is just inviting the same process all

over again. Did the Wall Street debacle not teach you anything?

There is no doubt that regulations are not perfect (just like us). There

is no doubt that some need improving and others need to go, but that

happens year in and year out thanks to the normal grassroots processes

that ask for and get change.

All the regulation we have is there for good reason and in most cases we

only have our colleagues to blame. We will never go back to a time of

less regluation, just better regulation. And if you want better

regulation, the follow the rules, weed out the small percentage of bad

apples that end up giving us more regulation by being a whistleblower and

stay involved in the organizations that work day in and day out on our

behalf to improve the regulations that we have.

Tom Howell, PT, MPT

Meridian , Idaho

Too bad there's no way (yet) to " like " Dave Milano's comment " Another

> Rule...? " on PTManager!

> Tim , PTwww.PhysicalTherapyDiagnosis.com

>

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>

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>

>

>>

>> Another rule? About ink!?

>>

>> We're drowning in rules folks, to the point that we are producing a

> cultural ethos that " required " equates with " right " and that compliance

> is the highest form of behavior, and we are seriously considering

> writing another to obviate this extraordinarily tiny decision?

>>

>> , I don't mean to pick on you---I often find myself following

> the pack and considering turning good ideas into rules. But it's a trend

> that desperately needs reversing. (This blog is evidence enough of how

> far down the slippery slope of rule-making we've fallen. Compliance

> questions here take up more time and energy by far than any other aspect

> of management.)

>>

>> You obviously didn't earn all those letters by being a dim bulb. As

> far as I'm concerned, the best way to make Ball useful would be

> to turn him loose. I'd like nothing better than to see you set free to

> do what you think is right, unfettered. And if somebody at some point

> happened to notice that some aspect of your practice needed attention,

> clinical decision-making or ink color or anything in between, then a

> conversation would be in order, allowing you and a colleague to discover

> what's best for your patients, your practice, and yourselves. Now THAT'S

> making use of human intellect and conscience! (And, not incidentally,

> conversations with sharp cookies like are often fun, interesting,

> stimulating, and instructive!) But we live in a very different universe

> now where that sort of thing is either generally not allowed. We've gone

> so far the other way by now that I fear we are creating generations of

> Americans who are losing their skills of observation, and learning to

> trust bureaucrats (and legislators and judges and " experts " of all

> sorts) more than their own minds, hearts, and intuition.

>>

>> Sorry about the rant, but this tightly buttoned-up,

> centrally-controlled culture is beginning to get to me. If I have to

> write another memo about another rule, I think my head is going to

> explode. But no problem there, I suppose, since we have pages of pages

> of internal policy and and DOH regulations and OSHA regulations

> describing how we must clean up the mess.

>>

>> Dave Milano, PT

>> Rehabilitation Director

>> Laurel Health System

>> ________________________________________

>> From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com>

[PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf

> Of Ball [drdrewpt@...]

>> Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 5:23 PM

>> To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com>

>> Subject: Re: Documentation Ink question

>>

>> Back in the day, only black ink would copy on old-school Xerox

> copiers,

>> hence the rule. Technology evolved, and the rule did not. Until

> recently,

>> that is. Some hospital systems may still require black ink because

> it's a

>> bit cleaner looking when documents are scanned into the electronic

> medical

>> record. My suggestion would be to make a clinic rule and be

> consistent,

>> having a rationale for your decision.

>>

>> --

>> * M. Ball, PT, DPT, PhD, MBA, OCS*

>> *Board Certified in Orthopedic Physical Therapy*

>> *Residency Trained in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy*

>> Carolinas Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency

> Faculty

>> NorthEast Rehabiltation, Staff Physical Therapist

>> cell:

>>

>>