2003 continues...

...it's lights, action & cameras as Las Vegas, NM becomes the setting for a scene in the movie Blind Horizon...the cast includes Val Kilmer, Faye Dunaway, Sam Shepard & Neve Campbell...many of the extras included citizens of the town itself...

...1/6/03: winds were howling during the evening...gusts reached up to 61 mph, toppling & uprooting trees, and damaging cars...there were no injuries...8" of snow fell in Taos & Santa Fe...at 5 AM, it was 45 degrees...but the high only reached 50...Geri was out sick...so no one was officially in charge today...a new employee, Joanne, will replace Rosie's in the senior coding position, but not before they find & train someone for her old position...and Jolin leaves on maternity in a couple of weeks...Brahms was up & down...INGENIX ran longer than expected...and with the Christmas light put away for another year...

Darkness falls across the land!

...1/3/02: Dr. Katz returned to work, nothing mentioned about the dictation delays...1/6/03: Brad's terrible trip to the twisted Target @MONTG...but he got two DVD movies on sale...more snow for the New England coast, lasting until the end of the week...lots of rain for Phoenix...if you have to ask for the price of a car at an auto show, you can't afford it!...the Tylenol commercial that puts down good employees, those that have a good attendance record and will assist wherever needed...such as Cassandra, who will work on the E/R backlog...however, on her own, she continues monitoring what comes in, and codes the CHC billing sheets...when needed, Roxann will help us...Mike was legally discharged from most of his debts...1/7/03: Brad made flan, which tasted very, very good!...both Mike & Cassandra are plagued by endless questions from Data Entry...gas drops a penny to $1.43/gal...1/9/03: gas is now $1.42/gal...1/8/03: Brad goes to the UH Dermatology Clinic; treated & released...Mike has blood drawn for next week's doctor's visit...

...from 1/6 to 1/10, the Central bus route bypasses the first 5 blocks of Copper due to road work...1/6/03: Mike walked from 3rd to 8th & Copper to wait for the bus...1/7/03: Mike & a fellow travel companion, Tom, wait at the west corner of 5th & Copper...this is a temporary, unmarked bus stop for Route 66...the new bus schedules are causing people to rethink how to plan their routes when traveling around the city...1/8/03: got the early Lomas bus...at the end of the day, went to get blood drawn @Truman Clinic for the doctor visit next week...the Lomas bus passed in front of the hospital at 3:58!...

...1/7/03: President Bush has threatened Iraq with war if it does not rid itself of weapons of mass destruction...but he said in N Korea's case working with countries in the region, diplomacy will work...1/8/03: N Korea claims that the US is trying to start a nuclear war on that Asian peninsula...1/8/08: now the US wants Saddam Husein to abdicate & leave Iraq...it may take 300,000 soldiers to invade that country...

...during February, former Superman actor Christopher Reeve will appear in a Smallville episode ...

...1/7/03: the war with Hope is also escalating...and, again, received billing sheets in our "IN" box dated July, August & October...Data Entry keeps asking questions about edits, then want to know the "why"...the trouble is they have limited or no medical knowledge...at the end of the day, Cassandra was not completing her INGENIX as fast as desired by the Data Entry personnel...so they contacted me...and I told them about the amount of work people want done before the end of the day...and that was the last conversation on that subject!...1/8/08: the day nothing was heard from the Data Entry people...but that was the only peace offered us...I was E-mailed by Pat [our big boss] as to why we needed ICD & CPT books when everything is on-line...we explained that sometimes doctors need to look something up before deciding what code to use...books would be helpful if the system went down...by Pat received an E-mail from Dr. Cordova on 1/7/03...this same doctor did not indicate there were any problems when asked about the status of this request, which took place during the Winter Break...I asked Pat why we weren't told by Dr. Cordova that this was not done, or could no longer be allowed...why did it have to reach the top of the management ladder!...all this over something that could have been nipped in the bud with a simple "No", from the doctor..."the books that could not be ordered!"...

...1/13/02: lo & behold!...Geri has a 2003 ICD book!...

...there were 14 consecutive months without an airline casualty in this country, which included the entire year of 2002!...the sad news is that a plane crashed in NC on 1/8/03, killing all its passengers...

...1/7/03: Lomas bus going west pulls into the left lane at the hospital and turns into the campus...I was quite angry!...but, a bus going eastbound (a new one, no less!) had died, and this bus (an old one!) would pick up its stranded passengers...

It's just one of those "daze"!

...and, as of now, doctors should not bill for conscious sedation services...I received a form with my name, but not my handwriting, with my old security code...this was used to indicate charges that were past the filing date...but 2 out of the 3 charges could still be submitted...so now I have copies of these bills in a folder...plus the past due billing sheet (from Dr. Cordova, no less!) has been given to Dr. Katz...another new employee (coder) also has "followed" Cassandra from Lovelace...the cruise director (knows all, sees all, tells all)...400,000 people in this state are covered by Medicaid...

...sometimes Geri tries too hard to make us understand the how's & why's of the other person...that's all well & good, but I don't think "the other person" gives a damn about us, or they wouldn't do what they did!...but 1/9/03: a time to be quiet & humble...close the crab's shell...no visitors...a meeting from 1:30 to 3...it was via telephone, and people answered questions that were written in, then took phone calls...many inquiries were just dumb!...

You go, girl!

...Captain braves the outside world beyond the front door...

...most models' pictures in magazines have been digitally altered...

...warm weather for NM...rain in Palm Springs, CA...thunderstorms in southern MA; otherwise, snow...a ad about SUV links money spent on gas helps fuel terrorist groups...on a separate note; because of budget cuts, schools in small towns are starting a 4-day school week...costs are cut for electricity & fuel fo school buses (thus not helping terrorists)...car flips over in ABQ, ejects the driver, then lands on her!...at St. Joseph's NE Heights, the wrong newborn is given to a mother...the staff did not verify the ID number on the child...saw a skateboard strapped to a backpack!...

War is in the air!

...1/9/03: some people do not give up!...meeting with Dr. Cordova, Cassandra, John & other doctors brings up those 5 green cards from Sept....it is implied that there are many Dec. charges that have not been coded, especially I/P...if that is true, they must be hidden since charges for 2003 I/P services appear on RAVEL (sort of a UNM TRK system)...it was brought to everyone's attention, via Cassandra's spreadsheet, that Coding has not received a steady flow of batches from the PEDS Clinic for a couple of weeks...and people go on & on about losing staff (2 PEDS clerks), and how things may get more delayed...which implies that the delay is not caused by Coding...but some things just won't be forgotten!...1/10/03: visit by Pat [our boss], to speak about new sleep study by Dr. Bashir...it will be located in the hospital, due to the nature of the wires & tubes as part of the tests...we showed her our backlog & the lack of charges from the PEDS Clinic...and, at the end of the day, Dr. Cordova exchnages pleasantries with me when we pass in the Clinic corridor!...I guess the problem with uncoded charges will rekindle itself when Rosanne returns!...

...bus drivers are going faster in order to retain their 5-minute break...fine with me...1/9/03: Brad created a wonderful mildly spiced baked salmon...Captain is enjoying the mild weather, running all through the apartment...1/10/03: Brad made hot dogs with brie...1/12/03: peach/cherry pie, deep dish pizza & Greek salad with New Mexico Zinfandel...all great!...Brad may begin a New Mexican garden in the front porch...

..1/12/03: Maurice Gibb, of BeeGees' fame, died in a S FL hospital at the age of 53...the cause of death was cardiac arrest...he had been married to British singer Lulu...later that week, the singer will be cremated and laid to rest in FL...the man who shot 3 people near Menaul & Washington needs police protection from the hospital to the courthouse because of the numerous death threats issued to him...

...things that go bump in the day & night...during one evening, Cassandra thought she felt her son Miguel tug at her sleeve while she was sleeping...the first time she was puzzled, but thought it could have been her husband bumping into her in bed...the second time, she got up, thinking Miguel had run back to his room...when she arrived, he was sound asleep, as if he had been like that for a while...another day, Cassandra was working on her PC and miguel was playing with his toys when his ball suddenly bounced into their living room...there was no wind, nor anyone else in the house...her family is the first owners of this house...but, I asked, what is underneath the foundation?...

...1/12/03: OPEC members agreed Sunday to boost the cartel's oil production target by 6.5% to cover a shortfall in crude exports from Venezuela...the increase of 1.5 million barrels a day would take effect 2/1/03, OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah told a news conference...1/12/03: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which had been No. 1 for 3 straight weekends, slipped to second place with $15 million in receipts, but that pushed its total domestic gross to $283.6 million, according to studio estimates...

...this year's Super Bowl will be held in San Diego...1/10/03: Mayor Chavez vs. the Ethics Board...PNM wants a $7/month increase, to begin at the end of 2003...1/10/03: Brad is discharged of his debts...1/11/03: snow leaves New England; in ABQ, there was very light rain...1/12/03: stepped on Captain's tail by accident...

...there are various countdowns regrading the war with & in Iraq...by 1/27/03, a report should be ready from the UN weapons inspectors...62,000 more being sent; 65,000 already deployed...the final boatload of troops should arrive in the Persian Gulf by the end of February...in all, there should be 150,000 soldiers ready for combat...

...the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad needs to make repairs on both its trains & track before re-opening in May...the state is being bathed in high pressure...this will change by the end of the week...some babies are bathed in U/V lamps due to having jaundice...their eyes are carefully covered...one looked like he was getting a San Tropez tan...at any time, he might ask the nurse for a cocktail or a shift in position so his body can have an even tan...

...the founder of AOL will resign in May...the Buffalo Sabres & FAO Schwartz have filed for bankruptcy...

...1/12/03: Mickey Rooney, one of the stars from the Golden Age of the Silver Screen, was in ABQ to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Kimo Theater...1/13/03: in a rush (when aren't I!), I dropped one of my leather gloves...

...1/14/03: 2 below in Bismarck, ND...Cassandra will be working only on ER for the rest of the week, and into the holiday weekend...I could work overtime, but...Hope is training a new Data Entry person...the Clinic is crying the understaffed blues...both wards are nearing full capacity; most patients will be seen by PEDS doctors, not specialists...K-mart, filing for bankruptcy, will only close the Gallup, NM store in this state; 53 have been shut down in TX...an article on ABC World News speaks of discoveries at UNM of patterns in brain commands, and their effects in causing psych problems or disorders...Rosanne will tentatively return to work on 1/27/03...