Trying to tighten turnaround while keeping things HIPAA clean. Here’s the quick pass I use between providers to keep output consistent. Step 1: Expand slang. I run an AutoCorrect macro so “pt” → “patient,” “yo” → “year old,” “bid” → “twice daily.”
Step 2: Normalize meds. Before: “metoprolol 25 bid.” After: “metoprolol 25 mg twice daily.”
Step 3: Standard headers. Before: “Neuro.” After: “Neurologic.”
Step 4: Scrub stray IDs in shared examples. Replace names, dates, MRNs with brackets. Example: “[name], [date].”
Step 5: Mark unclear audio with time stamp mm:ss and a brief tag. Example: “[inaudible 03:17 cardiology term].” I keep this to 60 seconds per note. It keeps TAT stable across clinics, even when the foot pedal lags late in the day. Before/after intent is clarity, not rewriting style, so I don’t change provider phrasing, just units and expansions. Want a copy of the macro list?
Best TAT move: lock a HIPAA‑safe template with diarized lines and wire it to pedal/hotkeys. Less rework. Template: Header (date/provider only), HPI/Exam/Studies/Assessment & Plan. lines start ‘Provider:’/‘Patient:’. Pedal: left rewind 2s, center play/pause, right fast‑forward 2s. Hotkeys: Ctrl+1 Provider:, Ctrl+2 Patient:, Alt+B cycle [blank]s, F5 timestamp.
Big TAT saver for me: I set Word to default “Paste as Unformatted Text” and a quick save macro runs a sweep that flags/expands pt/yo/bid/tid/qid and catches stray L/R so I normalize in one pass. Before sending, I run File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document to strip properties/comments, and I name files date - provider only to keep PHI out of filenames.
I moved meds normalization into Word Quick Parts: I type med:metoprolol then hit F3 to drop in a snippet with dose and frequency fields, so “metoprolol [redacted] twice daily” stays consistent with your Step 2. I keep the building blocks local (no cloud sync) to stay HIPAA clean and it shaved about 30–45 seconds per note, tbh.
I wired a quick BeforeSave macro that auto-removes hidden data (tracked changes, comments, author info) and document properties, then saves so I’m not hand‑scrubbing at the end. It’s been a quiet TAT booster and keeps me HIPAA clean when I’m bouncing between providers.
Quick tweak: AutoCorrect Exceptions so ‘pt’ isn’t expanded inside words, @OP. Also wildcard replace fixes ‘[redacted]’ to ‘[redacted]’; case‑sensitive.