Wiki "Arthrocentesis" vs ""Injection"

[KStaten]

Hello, everyone. I would appreciate your input on this so that I can hopefully win an argument.

The term "athrocentesis" can be used interchangeably for the procedure of any "injection," and it doesn't matter for documentation purposes which term is used. (I completely disagree, by the way, but would appreciate your confirmation.)

Thanks!
Kim

 

[carlystur]

That doesn't make any sense to me since they mean opposite things. Arthrocentesis is removing fluid from a joint and Injection is putting something into a joint. Why wouldn't it matter?

 

[KStaten]

That doesn't make any sense to me since they mean opposite things. Arthrocentesis is removing fluid from a joint and Injection is putting something into a joint. Why wouldn't it matter?

That was my argument. Arthro- (joint) -centesis (puncture), so the rudimentary translation would be "puncturing of a joint," but it is associated most commonly and readily among the medical / science community as to puncture in order to, (as you said) drain or remove fluid. An injection is, as you pointed out, the complete opposite. This has been my understanding and argument for weeks, but, I only have a 4-year degree, so I have been outranked. Sometimes when you're outranked, you can only will an argument when the other person is outnumbered. haha So, I appreciate your input.

 

[Orthocoderpgu]

Hello, everyone. I would appreciate your input on this so that I can hopefully win an argument.

The term "athrocentesis" can be used interchangeably for the procedure of any "injection," and it doesn't matter for documentation purposes which term is used. (I completely disagree, by the way, but would appreciate your confirmation.)

Thanks!
Kim

This is "doctor speak" for sure. A doctors focus is that the joint was entered. They may be removing excess fluid, they may be injecting a medication, or they may be doing both at the same time. So to them (doctors) their mind does not see a difference. They really don't see it. I totally understand them thinking this way.

 

[KStaten]

This is "doctor speak" for sure. A doctors focus is that the joint was entered. They may be removing excess fluid, they may be injecting a medication, or they may be doing both at the same time. So to them (doctors) their mind does not see a difference. They really don't see it. I totally understand them thinking this way.

If they think of it with that logic, they also have to perform an incision in order to do their surgeries, but they wouldn't call an arthroplasty an arthrotomy... unless maybe if they were haphazardly using Dragon. haha. Also, using it interchangeably for any injection also causes more contradiction when they are performing an injection into a structure that isn't a joint, such as a tendon or muscle, for example. I have never in any of my medical classes been taught that these terms could be used interchangeably (for the reasons listed above).

 

[Orthocoderpgu]

I have been staring at doctors eyes and communicating with them daily in my clinics since 2008 and I can tell you that they don't think the same as we do. To them an injection/arthrocentesis could be a push, a pull or both! That's just how they think. I'm not excusing bad or incorrect documentation. You learn how they think it will make your job easier as you work with them.

 

[KStaten]

I have been staring at doctors eyes and communicating with them daily in my clinics since 2008 and I can tell you that they don't think the same as we do. To them an injection/arthrocentesis could be a push, a pull or both! That's just how they think. I'm not excusing bad or incorrect documentation. You learn how they think it will make your job easier as you work with them.

I don't think doctors necessarily "think differently" in many instances, but instead, some of them become frustrated (possibly a little apathetic, in some cases) with documentation guidelines and EMR systems, and settle on choosing the easiest route (in regards to documentation) simply because they don't think that the documentation matters as much as long as they correctly treat the patient. For instance, forms may make it easier to select an incorrect diagnosis or procedure, so they may simply go with it. While I can certainly understand their frustrations, I can't imagine that they are trained to think differently in grad school from everything we learned in all the years leading up to that. I can both respect a doctor, and respectfully disagree with him/her.