Re: Documentation Ink question

[Guest guest]

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:

[Guest guest]

To answer your question, I will ask why do you write in black? Why not write in

red, orange, or green? There is nothing in the CMS manual, Conditions of

Participation, or any other therapy manual, rules or regulations that I'm aware

of that says you have to use a black pen. From a reviewer perspective, they care

about what's in the note versus what color pen you used.

With that said, I know many attorneys and banks that use blue ink for the reason

your PTA stated. It is easier to tell which is the " real " signature versus a

copy.

Rick Gawenda, PT

President

Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc

www.gawendaseminars.com

Subject: Documentation Ink question

To: " PTManager " <PTManager >

Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012, 4:33 PM

 

Dear colleagues-

This question may seem somewhat antiquated, but for those of us who have not yet

made the transition to electronic documentation, has anyone begun to complete

documentation in BLUE ink rather than the old black?

This question came up because the last two new staff I have oriented ( and not

explicitly said- " use black ink " ) both have written their notes in blue on the

first day. And when I questioned the new PTA student , who also wrote his

notes in blue, he indicated that the facility where he works as an ATC does ALL

their documentation in Blue. The rationale for using blue is it is a way to

help differentiate between the original and a copy.

I am questioning whether we need to switch to blue , until we go electronic (

which may be a while).

Thanks

Marcy Stalvey, PT, MS, NCS

Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute

Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

[Guest guest]

To answer your question, I will ask why do you write in black? Why not write in

red, orange, or green? There is nothing in the CMS manual, Conditions of

Participation, or any other therapy manual, rules or regulations that I'm aware

of that says you have to use a black pen. From a reviewer perspective, they care

about what's in the note versus what color pen you used.

With that said, I know many attorneys and banks that use blue ink for the reason

your PTA stated. It is easier to tell which is the " real " signature versus a

copy.

Rick Gawenda, PT

President

Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc

www.gawendaseminars.com

Subject: Documentation Ink question

To: " PTManager " <PTManager >

Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012, 4:33 PM

 

Dear colleagues-

This question may seem somewhat antiquated, but for those of us who have not yet

made the transition to electronic documentation, has anyone begun to complete

documentation in BLUE ink rather than the old black?

This question came up because the last two new staff I have oriented ( and not

explicitly said- " use black ink " ) both have written their notes in blue on the

first day. And when I questioned the new PTA student , who also wrote his

notes in blue, he indicated that the facility where he works as an ATC does ALL

their documentation in Blue. The rationale for using blue is it is a way to

help differentiate between the original and a copy.

I am questioning whether we need to switch to blue , until we go electronic (

which may be a while).

Thanks

Marcy Stalvey, PT, MS, NCS

Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute

Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

[Guest guest]

To answer your question, I will ask why do you write in black? Why not write in

red, orange, or green? There is nothing in the CMS manual, Conditions of

Participation, or any other therapy manual, rules or regulations that I'm aware

of that says you have to use a black pen. From a reviewer perspective, they care

about what's in the note versus what color pen you used.

With that said, I know many attorneys and banks that use blue ink for the reason

your PTA stated. It is easier to tell which is the " real " signature versus a

copy.

Rick Gawenda, PT

President

Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc

www.gawendaseminars.com

Subject: Documentation Ink question

To: " PTManager " <PTManager >

Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012, 4:33 PM

 

Dear colleagues-

This question may seem somewhat antiquated, but for those of us who have not yet

made the transition to electronic documentation, has anyone begun to complete

documentation in BLUE ink rather than the old black?

This question came up because the last two new staff I have oriented ( and not

explicitly said- " use black ink " ) both have written their notes in blue on the

first day. And when I questioned the new PTA student , who also wrote his

notes in blue, he indicated that the facility where he works as an ATC does ALL

their documentation in Blue. The rationale for using blue is it is a way to

help differentiate between the original and a copy.

I am questioning whether we need to switch to blue , until we go electronic (

which may be a while).

Thanks

Marcy Stalvey, PT, MS, NCS

Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute

Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

[Guest guest]

We've been allowing blue ink for a while. For us this issue was quality of

coping. Black ink copied better than any other. But as quality of copy

machines and fax machines has improved, this has no longer been a concern for

us.

Sara Baker

The Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City

3011 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO 64108

[Guest guest]

We've been allowing blue ink for a while. For us this issue was quality of

coping. Black ink copied better than any other. But as quality of copy

machines and fax machines has improved, this has no longer been a concern for

us.

Sara Baker

The Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City

3011 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO 64108

[Guest guest]

Marcy,

We have been using blue ink for years secondary to a recommendation from an

atty for exactly that reason-that you can differentiate between the original

and a copy. He said that it would help serve as proof that our

documentation was not altered. Don't know whether it will or not-but it

sounded reasonable to me at the time and we switched. ly, I don't

think it really means anything one way or the other-the key is that you have

the documentation.

Peg

Peg Grey, PT, DPT, MA, ATC, OCS

Grey Physical Therapy & Total Joint Rehab Center

Personalized Conditioning by Grey

101 Phoenix Avenue Suite 2D

Enfield, CT 06082

Ph:

Fax:

Email: peg@...

Body Made Better by Grey. . . a tradition of caring since 1984

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Marcy Stalvey

Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 4:34 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Documentation Ink question

Dear colleagues-

This question may seem somewhat antiquated, but for those of us who have not

yet made the transition to electronic documentation, has anyone begun to

complete documentation in BLUE ink rather than the old black?

This question came up because the last two new staff I have oriented ( and

not explicitly said- " use black ink " ) both have written their notes in blue

on the first day. And when I questioned the new PTA student , who also wrote

his notes in blue, he indicated that the facility where he works as an ATC

does ALL their documentation in Blue. The rationale for using blue is it is

a way to help differentiate between the original and a copy.

I am questioning whether we need to switch to blue , until we go electronic

( which may be a while).

Thanks

Marcy Stalvey, PT, MS, NCS

Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute

Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

[Guest guest]

Marcy,

We have been using blue ink for years secondary to a recommendation from an

atty for exactly that reason-that you can differentiate between the original

and a copy. He said that it would help serve as proof that our

documentation was not altered. Don't know whether it will or not-but it

sounded reasonable to me at the time and we switched. ly, I don't

think it really means anything one way or the other-the key is that you have

the documentation.

Peg

Peg Grey, PT, DPT, MA, ATC, OCS

Grey Physical Therapy & Total Joint Rehab Center

Personalized Conditioning by Grey

101 Phoenix Avenue Suite 2D

Enfield, CT 06082

Ph:

Fax:

Email: peg@...

Body Made Better by Grey. . . a tradition of caring since 1984

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Marcy Stalvey

Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 4:34 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Documentation Ink question

Dear colleagues-

This question may seem somewhat antiquated, but for those of us who have not

yet made the transition to electronic documentation, has anyone begun to

complete documentation in BLUE ink rather than the old black?

This question came up because the last two new staff I have oriented ( and

not explicitly said- " use black ink " ) both have written their notes in blue

on the first day. And when I questioned the new PTA student , who also wrote

his notes in blue, he indicated that the facility where he works as an ATC

does ALL their documentation in Blue. The rationale for using blue is it is

a way to help differentiate between the original and a copy.

I am questioning whether we need to switch to blue , until we go electronic

( which may be a while).

Thanks

Marcy Stalvey, PT, MS, NCS

Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute

Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

[Guest guest]

CMS themselves has continued to " prefer " blue ink on signatures for

enrollment (and change of information) that is processed on the CMS 855 form

series(from page 26 of the 855i): " all signatures must be original and

signed in ink (blue ink preferred). Applications with signatures deemed not

original will not be processed. Stamped, faxed or copied signatures will not

be accepted. "

Similar language is on the 2 page certification statement (if using the

printed vs. the electronic) in PECOS: " The 2-page Certification Statement

must be signed by the physician or non-physician practitioner enrolling or

making changes to enrollment information. Signatures must be original and in

ink (blue ink recommended). Copied or stamped signatures will not be

accepted. "

I concur with Rick, that I know of no regulation stating the color of ink in

documentation, but CMS has made their preference known on the 855 series and

electronic equivalent.

J. Beckley, MS, MBA, CHC | President

Beckley & Associates LLC

P | F

<http://nancybeckley.com/> nancybeckley.com |

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From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Ball

Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 4:23 PM

To: PTManager

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:

[Guest guest]

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 [PTManager ] On Behalf Of

Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

To: PTManager

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:

[Guest guest]

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 [PTManager ] On Behalf Of

Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

To: PTManager

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:

[Guest guest]

Dave,

may I suggest the Death of Common Sense?

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Common-Sense-Suffocating-America/dp/0812982746/ref=s\

r_1_1?s=books & ie=UTF8 & qid=1341579245 & sr=1-1 & keywords=death+of+common+sense

Jan Dommerholt

Jan Dommerholt, PT, DPT, MPS, DAAPM

President

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Diplomate, American Academy of Pain Management

Advanced Certification of Competency, Spine Research Institute of San Diego

If pain is a puzzle, we should not throw away pieces of the jigsaw just because

we are obsessed with a preconceived single solution.

Wall

Bethesda Physiocare®, Inc.

7830 Old town Road, Suite C-15

Bethesda, MD 20814-2440

United States

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

dommerholt@...

www.bethesdaphysiocare.com

Myopain Seminars, LLC

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

www.myopainseminars.com

dommerholt@...

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jandommerholt

> IMPORTANT NOTICE

> This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which

it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and

exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message

in error, you are hereby notified that we do not consent to any reading,

dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message. If you have received

this communication in error, please accept our apologies. notify the sender

immediately and destroy the transmitted information.

>

> Thank you.

>

> Bethesda Physiocare®

>

[Guest guest]

Dave,

may I suggest the Death of Common Sense?

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Common-Sense-Suffocating-America/dp/0812982746/ref=s\

r_1_1?s=books & ie=UTF8 & qid=1341579245 & sr=1-1 & keywords=death+of+common+sense

Jan Dommerholt

Jan Dommerholt, PT, DPT, MPS, DAAPM

President

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Diplomate, American Academy of Pain Management

Advanced Certification of Competency, Spine Research Institute of San Diego

If pain is a puzzle, we should not throw away pieces of the jigsaw just because

we are obsessed with a preconceived single solution.

Wall

Bethesda Physiocare®, Inc.

7830 Old town Road, Suite C-15

Bethesda, MD 20814-2440

United States

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

dommerholt@...

www.bethesdaphysiocare.com

Myopain Seminars, LLC

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

www.myopainseminars.com

dommerholt@...

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jandommerholt

> IMPORTANT NOTICE

> This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which

it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and

exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message

in error, you are hereby notified that we do not consent to any reading,

dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message. If you have received

this communication in error, please accept our apologies. notify the sender

immediately and destroy the transmitted information.

>

> Thank you.

>

> Bethesda Physiocare®

>

[Guest guest]

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

Rule...? " on PTManager!

Tim , PTwww.PhysicalTherapyDiagnosis.com

>

> 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 [PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

> To: PTManager

> 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:

>

>

[Guest guest]

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

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>>

>> 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 [PTManager ] On Behalf

> Of Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

>> To: PTManager

>> 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:

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

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

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>>

>> 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 [PTManager ] On Behalf

> Of Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

>> To: PTManager

>> 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:

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

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

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>>

>> 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 [PTManager ] On Behalf

> Of Ball [drdrewpt@...]

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

>> To: PTManager

>> 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:

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

Amen! I couldn't agree more Dave. We've been culturally programmed by the

mind mush media and their controllers to be " obedient workers " (google

Carlin American Dream - I won't post the link here because it

contains obscenity). If you want to know where this mindset is ultimately

heading, this excerpt describes this process in a more powerful way than I

ever could.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.html

If anyone can read this article and not think we're already headed down this

path, let me know and I can give you a few references to initiate your

education process. We obliging follow each and every rule, never

questioning them, like donkeys endlessly chasing the carrot that's dangled

in front of our noses, so pre-occupied with following the letter of the

unending and growing cascade of newer, stricter, and more suffocatingly

confining rules that we're too busy to know or do anything about those at

the top who seem curiously exempt from following rules themselves and

utterly immune from prosecution. Have you heard anything lately about Jon

Corzine being prosecuted for his role in the MF Global fiasco? Ask yourself

how many of the criminal actions by JP Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of

America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Stanley, Bear Stearns, Lehman

Brothers, and others in the banking/finance cartel have been prosecuted as

compared to, let's say, the saving and loan debacle of the 1980s? How about

the LIBOR scandal? It's all given lip service but then quietly and

unceremoniously swept under the rug ... until the next outrage comes along

.... and then, rinse and repeat. The financial and corporate power structure

of the world, led by the central bankers and in collusion with the highest

levels of government, is running amuck devastating the obedient and

compliant middle class while we're being told that germs from hot pack

covers will migrate through multiple layers of toweling to penetrate the

skins of poor unsuspecting patients and create hideous infections ... and we

believe it and scramble all over ourselves to comply. Following that logic,

patients should never sit in the chair of a waiting room due to the

infection risk. It's ludicrous but we buy into it. Insanity!

, PT, OCS

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:

>

>