transcription, speech recognition, working with EHRs, and creating
NaturallySpeaking as the dictator. She has always endeavored to in
learning as much as she can about a program and using different pr
each other. She has learned other programs through AHDI-West, in
WordPress, to help run AHDI-West’s website
facilitate our pro
1 andCEC
serving on the Board of Governors of AHDI-West as Financial Dir
Using Shorthand for Windows
Julia A. Dyviniak, CHDS
S
horthand for Windows, a text assembly and document preparation tool, can increase your productivity as well as your accuracy. Who wants to type out
the word hyperlipoproteinemia when you can type “hlp`”
and allow a program to complete it for you, correct every
time? Following are some formulas to use with Shorthand
so that you won’t have to memorize your 2000 shortcuts
as well as some ways to program Shorthand to make your
job easier, more productive, and more accurate. You may
even have some fun experimenting.
The first thing I teach anyone working with me is to
avoid reaching for the mouse whenever possible. Using
the mouse will screech your 80 wpm speed to zero every
time your hand leaves the keyboard. There will be times
it is unavoidable, but to increase productivity, it is important to minimize your mouse-reaching. This will entail
learning some new habits and will take longer at first, but
be patient with yourself, and start by learning a couple
shorthand keywords every week.
Shorthand for Windows is located at http://www.pcshorthand.com. The latest version is 10b. The yearly cost
of this program is about $30.00, but there is a trial version
as well as a 1-month temporary version for about $6.00,
so you can try it out without significant cost. I use the
temporary version for my laptop on the occasions when
I’m working away from my desk or traveling.
12
MAY/JUNE 2016
3 QUIZ
Shorthand for Windows, a text assembly and document preparation
medical
productivity as well as your accuracy. Whotranscription
wants to type out the w
when you can type “hlp`” and allow a program tools
to complete it for y
Following are some formulas to use with Shorthand so that you wo
2000 shortcuts as well as some ways to program Shorthand to mak
productive, and more accurate. You may even have some fun exper
Below is a picture of how Shorthand
The first thing I teach anyone working with me is to avoid reaching
appears. At the bottom of the window,
possible. Using the mouse will screech your 80 wpm speed to zero
you’ll see tabs indicating the different
the keyboard. There will be times it is unavoidable, but to increase
categories of shortcuts I have. There
minimize your mouse-reaching. This will entail learning some new
are with
threeyourself,
tabs: One
forstart
a physician
whoa couple sho
first, but be patient
and
by learning
likes everything typed in uppercase, one
tab that’sis blank,
one tab for everyShorthand for Windows
locatedand
at http://www.pcshorthand.com.
thing
else.
I
would
suggest
yearly cost of this program is about $30.00, different
but there tabs
is a trial versi
only
if
you
have
physicians
with
temporary version for about $6.00, so you can
try drastiit out without sig
cally
format
or if you’re
temporary version
fordifferent
my laptop
on theneeds
occasions
when I’m workin
working
in
a
couple
of
different
fields
traveling.
requiring different terminology, such as
medical
legal. It appears.
is very important
Below is a picture
of howand
Shorthand
At the bottom of the
to note categories
that when of
youshortcuts
have a tab
acti-There are thr
indicating the different
I have.
vated,typed
that is
tab any new
keyword
who likes everything
inthe
uppercase,
one tab
that’s blank, and
will be stored
in. There
bewith drast
would suggest different
tabs only
if you will
haveprobably
physicians
times
you’d
like
to
store
the
keyword
or if you’re working in a couple of different fields requiring differe
in multiple
especially
forthat
common
medical and legal.
It is very tabs,
important
to note
when you have a
English
etc.will be stored in. There will probably be times y
any newwords,
keyword
inOne
multiple
especially
for for
common
words,
etc.
of thetabs,
physicians
I work
uses a English
VPN. The
server
OneI VPN
of theinto
physicians
I work
for uses a for
VPN.
The server
that
has a copy
of Shorthand
Windows,
so that I VPN
Shorthand
fortheir
Windows,
so when
amVPN
on their
computer using the
when
I am on
computer
using Ithe
connection,
versions
of Shorthand
can can
be activated.
TheThe
blank
tab tab
is useful so I
both
versions
of Shorthand
be activated.
blank
ispersonal
useful soversion.
I don’t have to close my personal version.
To ensure that Shorthand for Windows opens when you restart or b
following:
To ensure that Shorthand for Windows opens when you
Goyour
to the
start button
restart or1.boot
computer,
do the following:
2.
All
programs
1. Go to the start button
Startup folder
2. All 3.
programs
4. Right click on the Startup Folder and drag onto the desk
5. Select “create shortcut WWW.AHDIONLINE.ORG
here”
6. Open Startup folder window
7. Drag the Shortcut for Shorthand from your desktop into
This will put Shorthand in the programs that initialize when you re
3. Startup folder
6. Type remaining letters in a word
4. Right click on the Startup folder and select send to
7. NOTE: If you need the first letter of your word
the desktop
capitalized, type the keyword with a capital letter at
5. Select “create shortcut here”
the beginning, and it will expand initially capped
6.
Open
Startup
folder
window
(i.e.,your
pt` patient;
Pt` do
Patient)
To ensure that Shorthand for Windows opens when you restart or boot
computer,
the
7. Drag the Shortcut for Shorthand from your desktop
For example:
following:
into1.theGo
Startup
​Ls` expands into Lumbosacral.
to the folder
start button
​Ede` expands into Edema. You can also type “tous” to
2. All programs
3. Startup
folder in the programs that initialize
This will
put Shorthand
make edematous.
4.
Right
click
on
the
Startup
Folder
and
drag
onto
the
desktop
when you restart or boot your computer.
​Typing an “s” to activate the keyword will add an
5. Select “create shortcut here”
“s” to the end of the keyword: Techs` will expand to
6. Open Startup folder window
Set up Shorthand:
techniques.
7. Drag and
the Shortcut
Shorthand
from
your desktop into the Startup folder
Open Shorthand
click on for
Shortcuts,
Edit,
Operation
ThisClick
will put
Shorthand
in check
the programs
initialize
when you
restart or boot your computer.
tab.
on Hot
Key and
CTRL. that
Shorthand
will
Formulas
Set
up
Shorthand:
activate with Ctrl+F10. I set “Pause 0 msec after every 1
1. The first two or three letters of a word or the first
Open Shorthand and click on Shortcuts, Edit, Operation tab. Clickand
on Hot
and check CTRL.
keystroke.”
last Key
letters.
Shorthand will activate with Ctrl+F10. I set “Pause 0 msec after every
1 keystroke.”
b. tr`
t​reatment
c. car` c​ arcinoma
d. gl` ​gastroesophageal
2. Grouping words that have the same root – use the
keyword and add the last letter:
a. eval` e​ valuation
b. evale` e​ valuate
c. evale` w
​ ith an “s” evaluates
d. evald` e​ valuated
e. evalg` e​ valuating
3. First letter of each word or root word
a. ger`​gastroesophageal reflux
Using Shorthand
Shorthand
Using
b. gerd` g​ astroesophageal reflux disease
Add
a
keyword:
Add a keyword:
c. geri` g​ astroesophageal reflux irritation
​Press Alt+Ins
up the dialogue
​Press Alt+Ins
to bringto
upbring
the dialogue
box. box.
d. gerl` g​ astroesophageal reflux laryngitis
​In the Keyword
box,
type (The
“gen`”
` is located
of gl`
theg
on your keyboard
​In the Keyword
box, type
“gen`”
` is(The
located
to the to the left e.
​ #1
astroesophageal
below
the
~
symbol.)
left of the #1 on your keyboard below the ~ symbol.)
NOTE: You will need to be able to type an
T
​
ab
to
get
to
the
Text
to
Type
box,
type
general
(Type
the
word
in lowercase
unless you without it expanding,
​Tab to get to the Text to Type box, type general (Type the
acronym
or abbreviation
it to beunless
capitalized
every
time
expand it, such as in proper
names,
etc.) the ` will not expand.
word in need
lowercase
you need
it to
be you
capitalized
so GERD
without
​Press Alt+O for okay to save the new keyword.
every time you expand it, such as in proper names, etc.)
4. Common usage
Type gen` in MS Word and press the spacebar. This should expand the word.
​Press Alt+O for okay to save the new keyword.
a. htn` ​hypertension
Type gen` in MS Word and press the spacebar. This
b. htv` ​hypertensive
Note: The ` (grave accent mark) is used after most keywords in order to prevent accidental
should expand the word.
c. copd` ​chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
expansion of a word. For example, if you use ca to expand into cancer in Shorthand but you are
d. COPD without the ` will not expand.
typing an address with ca, intending to abbreviate the word California, you will see the address
Note:
The
`
(grave
accent
mark)
is
used
after
most
5.
Plural
printed Covina, Cancer 91724.
keywords
to prevent
accidental
of a keys:
a. vb` ​vertebral body
To expandina order
keyword,
you can
strike anyexpansion
of the following
word.
For
example,
if
you
use
ca
to
expand
into
cancer
in
b. vbs` ​vertebral bodies
1. Spacebar
Shorthand
but
you
are
typing
an
address
with
ca,
intendc. You can also use two periods (..) to add ed to the
2. Enter
ing to
abbreviate
the
word
California,
you
will
see
the
end of a word
3. Tab
address
printed Covina, Cancer 91724.
i. gild..​gilded
4. Comma
To expand
a
keyword,
you
can
strike
any
of
the
following
6.
Medications
– use a letter to precede the medication
5. Period
keys:6. Type remaining letters in a word
keyword without the ` (grave symbol). All your
1.7.Spacebar
will bewith
grouped
together in Shorthand.
NOTE: If you need the first letter of your word capitalized,medications
type the keyword
a
2. Enter
a. jamox
moxicillin
capital letter at the beginning, and it will expand initially capped
(i.e., a​pt`
patient; Pt`
3. TabPatient)
b. jvic ​Vicodin
4.example:
Comma
c. jben B
​ enicar
For
5. Period
d.
jbena
B
​ enadryl
​Ls` expands into lumbosacral.
​Ede` expands into edema. You can also type “tous” to make edematous.
VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 3
MAY/JUNE 2016
13
7. Group items by physician name
a. You can copy entire reports into Shorthand by
highlighting the text and pressing ctrl+c to copy
it into your clipboard, then alt+ins to activate the
new shortcut box. Type the physician name,
hyphen, and then a description of the paragraph.
Tab and paste in Text to Type (ctrl+v). I have
several reports for Dr. Schwartz grouped as
follows:
i. Sch-bleph (A blepharoplasty report can be
pasted in and altered accordingly).
ii. Schnew` (The headings for a new consult
will play out with the headings bolded
appropriately.)
iii. All the reports, phrases, signatures, and
sentences unique to this physician can be
grouped under this physician name for easy
locating. Note: When there is a hyphen in
the keyword, you must go into the program
to find it and expand the report into your
document. Double-clicking on the chosen
shortcut from Shorthand will expand it
in your document wherever your mouse is
located.
8. Headings
a. Use a forward slash rather than the ` to create a
heading. (Formula one / for uppercase and two //
for uppercase, bold)
i. Hpi/ ​HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS:
ii. Hpi// H
​ ISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS:
1. Hpi/ one forward slash expands the
heading without bold
2. Hpi// - two forward slashes expands with bold
iii. Be sure to put one space in after the colon
in the Text to Type box. When you expand
with spacebar, you will have two spaces
after your colon.
iv. The shortcut will expand bolded, uppercase, and with two spaces following the
heading when you type hpi//. You may also
hit the hard return to expand the shortcut,
moving your cursor to the next line according to the format needed.
9. Modifying a keyword
a. Ctrl+F10 will open SH10
b. Type the keyword or a portion of the keyword
you want to modify
c. It will highlight
d. Right click on the entry and select modify
i. You can change the keyword or the word(s)
it will expand into
14
MAY/JUNE 2016
ii. Press Alt+O for “okay”
e. Esc will exit the window without exiting the
program
10. Programming Shorthand
a. To create the shortcut, think about what you
need to do and the steps you need to accomplish
that.
b. Press alt+ins to add keyword.
c. Type in the keyword with ` (ex: yr` for-year-old).
d. Tab to the Text to Type window.
e. For -year-old, you will need to backspace before
typing the first hyphen.
i. Ctrl+K to activate the keystroke recorder
ii. Hit the backspace key and press enter to
select “okay”
iii. Type -year-old
iv. Save the new entry by pressing Alt+O
v. In your document, type 25 [spacebar] and
then yr`
vi. This should place -year-old right against
the number, clearing the extra space.
Because you activated the shortcut with
the spacebar, you can just continue typing
as needed.
1. Try activating this shortcut also with
hard return, tab, comma, semicolon,
period.
f. Add cc: to the bottom of a letter ~
i. cc: at bottom of letter ctrl+k and as below
Use the keyword AND shortcut
ii. {@KEY Ctrl+End}{@KEY Ctrl+F}
dwps{@KEY Enter}{@KEY Esc}{@KEY
End}{@KEY Enter}ccc: {@KEY Left}{@
KEY Left}{@KEY BkSp}{@KEY End}
1. Press alt+ins to activate new shortcut
2. In the keyword space, type ccc`
3. Alt+S will bring up the keystroke
recorder to assign a shortcut keyboard
combination to activate the shortcut.
Press alt+0 [that’s a zero].
4. Tab to the text to type box, press
alt+k to activate keystroke recorder.
a. Press ctrl+end (first you need to
get to the end of your letter).
b. Press ctrl+F and type your
initials or whatever unique
identifier you have that appears
at the end of every letter (do
a find to find the last line of the
letter ~ we usually sign a letter
with our initials, so that is a
WWW.AHDIONLINE.ORG
unique item to find at the
bottom of the letter that will not
occur within the letter).
c. Press ctrl+k, enter (to activate
the find)
d. Press ctrl+k, esc (to exit the find)
e. Press ctrl+end (to get you to the
end of the line)
f. Press ctrl+enter (to get you to
the next line)
g. Type ccc:[space] (yes, three c’s
because Word always capitalizes the first one and we’re
going to delete it, leaving two
lowercase c’s and a space)
h. Press ctrl+k, left arrow
(do this twice)
i. Press ctrl+k, backspace
(to delete that capital C)
j. Press ctrl+k, end (to put you at
the end following the space after
the colon)
5. This will place you in a position to
activate the shortcut with a space (to
make two spaces after the colon) or
activate it with a hard return to put
you on the next line. You can then
enter your cc: information.
g. Program Shorthand to place today’s date
i. Alt+ins
ii. Keyword today`
iii. Shortcut (press alt+s to allow you to select
a shortcut), press ctrl+alt+T
iv. Click tags (at the bottom of the dialogue
box)
v. Select date/time
vi. Choose short date – this will expand into
an 8-digit date (i.e., 03/10/2016).
1. You can also put in a shortcut such
as ty` (for today) and yy` (for yesterday) with a date in the Text to Type
box and alter it each day
11. Saving/copying your Shortcuts
a. The Shorthand shortcuts are located in c:\sh10
b. Each tab will have three files to copy (as seen
below)
c. Be sure to right click, drag, and copy; dragging
from one box to another will often move the files
d. To open in Shorthand
VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 3
iii. Shortcut (press alt+s to allow you to select a sho
iv. Click tags (at the bottom of the dialogue box)
v. Select date/time
vi. Choose short date – this will expand into an 8-di
1. You can also put in a shortcut such as ty`
yesterday) with a date in the Text to Type
11. Saving/copying your Shortcuts
i.a.activate
Shorthandshortcuts
(ctrl+F10)
The Shorthand
are located in c:\sh10
ii.
b. File
Each tab will have three files to copy (as seen below)
iii.
c. Open
Be sure to right click, drag, and copy; dragging from on
iv. Select
movethe
the tab
filesname for your created
d. shortcuts
To open in Shorthand
i. activate Shorthand (ctrl+F10)
ii. File
NOTE: Julia presented
this webinar for AHDI-West in
Open in seeing Shortcuts in
early 2016. If you’reiii.
interested
iv. Select the tab
yourinforcreated shortcuts
action as a visual demonstration
for name
much for
of this
mation, contact AHDI-West ([email protected]) to
NOTE: Julia
presented
this webinar for AHDI-West in early 2016. If yo
purchase
($10).
P
Shortcuts in action as a visual demonstration for much of this informat
([email protected] or www.ahdi-west.org) to purchase ($10).
Julia Dyviniak has owned and operated her business since
1992 and has been a medical transcriptionist for more
than 20 years, with experience in nearly every specialty
as well as acute care. She also is now contracted with
AAA Transcription. Her experience includes traditional
transcription, speech recognition, working with EHRs,
and creating record reviews using Dragon NaturallySpeaking as the dictator. She has always endeavored
to increase productivity by learning as much as she can
about a program and using different programs in conjunction with each other. She has learned other programs
through AHDI-West, including GoToWebinar and WordPress, to help run AHDI-West’s website and facilitate
our programs. She is currently serving on the Board of
Governors of AHDI-West as Financial Director.
MAY/JUNE 2016
15