"Mixed blessings!"

...4/3/03: SARS will impact Asian tourism...this could have a ripple effect on global travel...people are warned not to visit mainland China or Hong Kong...more cases have appeared in the US...32,000 people in NM suffer from Hepatitis C...HMOs must allow patients to see out-of-network providers when medically necessary, but who or what determines the necessity?...the stocks rose 215 points then fell roughly 40 on 4/3/03...it still remains over 8200 points...at the end of the week it crawled up...the rise & fall are affected & driven by human psycology...but the job market is getting worse...that plus war fears, are causing most American to spend less...consumer confidence is at a 9-year low!...

...Cassandra may escape jury duty again due to her summer courses @TVI...the "Cat-woman" rewinds & repeats the things that bother her; such as waiting for a bus, not having any patience to wait, and that she could get to work just as easy by walking...but she never does walk, she always waits...and complains...tragic scene: car crash where our patient was ejected from the vehicle...his skull cracked open...good news to report...he is recovering quicker than expected, but will suffer from memory lapses...child flew over the handlebars of his tricycle, injuring his spine...

...4/3/03: warm & breezy...the story of "Lucky", the pup who was thrown into a sewage treatment plant...both his ear flaps had been removed, as well as its tail...but he has been cleaned, and is being given antibiotics by inserting a catheter into his leg...many people want to adopt him...there will be a lottery to determine his new owner...Lucky will need 2-3 weeks of additional meidcal treatments...4/4/03: the 2 Canadian geese were sighted walking the corridors at the Beach @6 AM...

...4/2/03: received a call from Dr. Webster..she answered my questions that were sent to her in an E-mail over a week ago!...better late than never!...

...4/4/03: the warrm weather has caused the cherry blossoms to bloom in DC earlier than scheduled...ice storm in New England...snow in North Dakota...clear, warm, dry & comfortable in ABQ...but cool & windy days lie ahead...this has been a great ski season in NM...most of state under a wind warning, with gusts @45+ mph, plus blowing dust & sand in SW NM...very windy in ABQ late PM 4/5/03, and into the night...warnings have shifted...4/6/03: windy weather in Central & E NM...4/6/03: storm in New England, up to 10 inches of snow...another blizzard in Nebraska, heading towards the Ohio River valley, then setting sights on New England again by week's end...

...higher security procedures for any document which contains a patient's medical info, as a result of the HIPAA legislation...how will this affect hospital wards, where charts are on the wall, with easy access by anyone is quite possible...

...President Bush states that people infected with SARS may be quaranteened, since they carry a deadly virus...

...4/4/03: ate @El Charritos on Central...sterile atmosphere, higher meal prices as compared to Casa Grande, but no better food...4/5/03: Brad made a great strawberry rhubarb pie...Captain enjoys munching on Brad's new Cat Grass plants, this is expected & OK for him to do..he also likes to sleep in the black leather chair in my office during the middle of the night...the ABQ Isotopes are in first place in their division...

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I've put down on words!" "How wonderful life is that you're in my world!"

...4/4/03: the kind Lomas bus driver who waited when I flagged him down...I had to avoid traffic in both directions...5th & 6th STS are being repaved in the downtown area...the Cat-woman will not wait at the Zuni stop, and will not walk to work because it is too far...

...SARS is reaching epidemic proportions...

...any or all of the military bases in NM could be shut down, but they have an advantage as being close to major cities in this state...the Gathering of Nations will be held on 4/24-26/03...this is North America's biggest pow-wow, plus the crowning of Miss Indian World 2003 on 4/25/03...Project Bio Shield: a plan to protect us against biological attacks by stockpiling medications & vaccines, some that have not been approved at this time by the FDA...

"There can be only one!"

...there are people in the Clinics who do not know how to complete billing sheets...they are checking 2 contrasting CPT codes for 1 visit...they are only checking Well Child Care services, when there is a dx for an illiness...they perfrom their 7-point check, notice that information is missing, but they still forward the charges to Data Entry or Coders...we still have yet to perform audits on a regular basis...4/8/03: found out, from a job applicant who knows Cassandra, that Ted in the Clinic had a stroke, but will return to work next week (?)...actually, he appeared in the PM of 4/9/03, which surprised both of us!...he did not appear any different than last week...

...4/6/03: it's Fire Season again!...the San Francisco fire burned 2000 acres in the Bosque near Bernardo in Soccoro Country...it is under control, with no damages to property & no injuries...

...4/5/06: haircut (poor Rudy has a sore throat and cannot speak)...then a walk to Rowland's nursery for additional garden supplies...4/6/03: Brad made a super pizza with cheese & pepperoni!...coffee can be used to cauterize a wound...the dollar is worth 25% less this year than last when compared to the Euro...Sammy Sosa hit his 500th career home run!...haven't heard from the East Coast, especially Phyllis & Steve...well, it has been almost 2 years since we left...during the weekend, saw The Siege...a fortelling of the events on 9/11/01?...

"Biological functions are calling me!"

...4/7/03: Brad stopped at UPA on his way from Wild Oats...it had snowed briefly during his travels; the day continued cool & windy, but clmed down at the end of the day...6:45 AM, and the guards could not unlock the security gate to the road in front of the hospital when patients are picked up or dropped off...for me, a blah day...I was very tired, and nearly fell asleep at my home PC...went to bed, only woke up once during the night...4/8/03: Brad enjoyed another visit to Wild Oats...yes, that is a touch of envy in that statement!...a vaccine for SARS is at least 1 year away...airlines are having fewer flights to SE Asia, China & Hong Kong...ABQ passes a rigid sex offender law, in which a person must contact police when he/she arrives, and must follow strict residency guidelines...

...4/7/03: 80 million people are affected by the snow which spans over 1,000 miles...more may be on its way...the first home game for baseball teams has been postponed in several cities...in Ft. Worth, TX there was golf ball & baseball size hail...there will be tornados in AL...in NM, 2 fronts, one from the 4 Corners area and the other from the NE, brought mountain snow & rain to that area...but warm, dry weather will be here until the weekend...4/8/03: but today, the morning was cold & windy...daylight savings has turned the morning into night again...it warmed by 4 PM...4/7/03: it took me 2.5 hours to do the Rounds, due to lots of discharges during the weekend...4/8/03: full house @GPU...I get a little sad because I am never praised by anyone for anything I do...4/9/03: I spoke with Eric...we will have to talk, just the two of us...about privacy...rain & ice from FL to NY...54 degrees in Billings, MT @5 AM; 71, @5PM...

...4/8/03: Rosanne was out sick...Geri was our "boss"...E-mailed her a question about security keys...she deleted the message, because she thought it had nothing to do with her or UPA employees in the HSC!...people are indicating 2 CPT codes for 1 dx...reason: they think the second indicator is for APC (it gets complicated!)...4/8/03: now, 2 doctors want to get paid for 1 medical visit (?)...

...Monogoya means lizard...4/9/03: Brad created a delicious potato salad & shrimp sauteed in butter, olive oil & garlic...overworked IRS employees are told to be more friendly with customers, such as those who cheat & hide money in Carribean banks...the price of a stamp will not go up in the near future (?)...the northbound street directional turn indicators have been painted on 6th...GOV Richardson was at UNH...he had a press conference @2 on the second floor of the hospital, signing into law bills to help higher education & hospital funding, as well as the increase of the cigaret tax...no special security procedures up to an hour before the event...saw a powder puff pink motor scooter on Lomas...gas dropped to $1.53/gal!...
...coming soon...4/10/03: PEDS meeting...no Data Entry, just excuses...4/11/03: INGENIX, then Rounds, then the monthly area staff meeting [they talk, we listen]...it was followed by a meeting with our big boss [Pat} who asked if we were interested in forming a coding class in order to earn a certificate in various fields or specialties...what she also heard was people who were upset because they have to pass a test to become a level 10, while those currently at level 10 don't have to do anything...the usual "You don't understand & don't know the total picture" excuse was given; followed by Judi stating out loud that Geri (who is a level 10 with no need to take any test) had to be taught how to code Medicine...this is also true when she helped PEDS...of course, this should be talked one to one with Pat...later...unless Pat forgets the entire subject...which should could & can...you could tell that Pat did not like this unplanned direction of the meetingin other avenues, the battle goes on to obtain a patient's finance numbers...some people do not know what it is, or how to get it or where to find it or have no security access to the applicable software...and on & on...then there is Conscious Sedation, the procedure with strict rules regarding its usage...only it appears Data Entry is not entering the code when it is applicable...to be continued...

...4/11/03: then there's the new problem of linking CPT to ICD cod(s), which is now a hot topic...why? either Data Entry has an updated IDX software which requires a linked ICD code, or they are finally doing their job correctly; and, as such, are finally encountering these edit message more & more...however, if you have any questions, said the Data Entry Manager, talk to your own manager...however, Rosanne said that we would learn how to link from the training in this meeting...sigh...Cassandra & I have been told that we can be too loud & complain too much...someone in our area contacted Rosanne & told her this story...but, what about the many people who come to this area & gripe about our decisions, missing charges or requests for information?...I guess we should be like a library, and indicate that loud voices will not be tolerated...then someone will tell Rosanne about our "silence" policy...

...the last Concorde flight will be on 10/31/03...the reason: rising fuel costs & lack of demand...be prepared for vanilla Pepsi!...our neighbor with the quiet Toyota was injured at work, using crutches to walk...day 1 of Dr. Gillian Harris as the attending MD: good marks, so far...same for day 2...

...the neighbor with quiet Toyota was injured at work, and is now using crutches...4/10/03: Gold ST now has arrows painted to indicate a 2-way 6th ST, which will officially allow traffic in both directions as of 4/21/03...we'll see!...as a new worker said on 4/10/03: This place is so disorganized!...the Rio Grande is the fifth most endangered river in America...others are the Ipswitch & the Gunnison...

...4/10/03: Brad made guacamole a la Nigella...very good!...