The Computer Will See You Now | Hacker News Reader

The Computer Will See You Now

nytimes.com

5 pointsasnyder7 comments

Most of his gripes seem to be coming from the software UI. All these problems seem readily addressable, there are numerous EMR systems out there with vastly different UIs, some more intuitive than others. It's a shame that his article seems to suggest that ALL EMRs suffer and will always suffer from these problems.

It's amazing how many don't see software as something that's malleable and can be suited to their needs. Hopefully an EMR manufacturer will publicly respond to these concerns, else this can become the general view of EMRs if for no other reason than a quick Google search on EMRs will likely result in this article, thus giving any opposer the necessary ammunition for an argument.

her gripes :)

Uncomfortable using computers in the examination room to enter patient data in realtime?

How about simply entering in the notes that you write on paper during the exam into your records database when you are done and alone. You can even scan images that you draw; however, I would take a high resolution digital photograph instead ( that would save even more time ).

And you might as well scan the whole page of notes into the system as well.

> How about simply entering in the notes that you write on paper during the exam into your records database when you are done and alone.

Given the training she has received, and the salary she receives, I would prefer her not to be spending time transcribing her notes from one system to another. It will put further pressure on the number of patients she can see. You could employ someone else to transcribe her notes at a salary more reasonable for the work but it is still, or at least should be, an unnecessary overhead.

Digital photos are a good idea although frequently details are sometimes difficult to pick out so I would say it's vital that any system makes it trivial to annotate the images.

> I would prefer her not to be spending time transcribing her notes from one system to another.

Ok. But data needs to be entered in the system somehow and patients need care and attention; and it makes sense to me to focus on one thing at a time, especially with a mission critical field such as health care.

> You could employ someone else to transcribe her notes at a salary more reasonable for the work but it is still, or at least should be, an unnecessary overhead.

People differ philosophically concerning what is important in health care. Some want quality and some want cheap ( most probably want both ). I don't work in the health care industry but I am curious how doctors would want to have their jobs structured at HMOs; do doctors want less patients and more time spent with them or do they want less time and the ability to see more patients?

How about simply entering in the notes that you write on paper during the exam into your records database when you are done and alone.

Using the copious free time that doctors have?

Quality care takes time. I am not going to dictate how people do their jobs. If they need more time then they can take more time; if this allows them to see less patients per day but spend more quality time doing their job, less prone to errors, and more comfortably, I don't see a problem. If there happens to be a shortage of doctors' time that is perhaps another issue unrelated to the quality of care they are giving.

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