Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
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Unit 1 Health Informatics Career Pathway
other healthcare professionals. Business letters may also explain patient
treatments to insurance companies or announce changes in schedules
and services for your healthcare facility. Regardless of their audience or
content, effective business letters follow the same basic guidelines.
Your letters will go to people outside your organization. For this
reason, you should choose your words carefully, keep a formal tone, and
focus on the purpose of your correspondence, or written communication.
Provide enough background information to keep your reader informed.
Maintain goodwill with your reader by being honest, polite, and prompt
in your correspondence.
Memos
Memos, short for memorandums (meh-muh-RAN-duhms), are less
formal than letters (Figure 2.9). Memos are sent to people within your
organization, so you can use a more personal tone in your writing. Your
memos serve as a written record of an event or a problem. They may also
be used to evaluate your performance. Managers look for correspondence
that shows you are solving problems, building relationships, and getting
the job done.
Memos start with the word memo or memorandum at the top of
the page. The headings To, From, Date, and Subject are followed by the
message of the memo. Follow your employer’s preferred format for these
communications. While readers expect memos to be brief and cover only
one topic, you should explain your topic carefully and include all of the
necessary details. This is especially important when a memo is used to
document the decisions made by a group. Learn to use the guidelines for
effective correspondence in all of your written communication.
Forms
Medical records, insurance claims, and business transactions all
require you to complete forms. While you will enter information into
a computer template for most forms, you may still be transferring
handwritten patient information into a registration form (Figure 2.10).
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MEMORANDUM
To: Jean Lee, Office Manager
From: Jeff Brown
Date: 06/03/15
Re: Vacation leave
I would like to use vacation time on September 1, 2, and 5 to
attend my sister’s wedding. Please let me know at your earliest
convenience if you can meet this request. I will need to make airline
reservations for the trip.
Thank you for your help.
Figure 2.9 Memos are
usually short and focus on
a particular topic. In what
situations might you use a
memo instead of a business
letter?
Simulate
EHR