Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and How Doctors Use
Them:
“Human Ways to Make the New Technologies Work”
In a recent email, we addressed
the need to be cognizant of how technology can ride roughshod over the “human
ways” of relating to one another. A recent
article we became aware of was addressed to physicians as they apply a
relatively new technology, i.e., Electronic Health Records (EHRs), to patient
sessions. The article is entitled, “Do Your EHR Manners
Turn Patients Off?”
The article speaks to an AMA
policy to “make physicians aware of tips and resources for effectively
using computers and…EHRs in patient-physician interactions.” The issue is that physicians are so engaged
with the computer that they don’t make eye contact with the patient, which
leaves patients feeling disconnected.
In fact, the original AMA report specifically urges physicians to set up
the examination room so that one can make eye contact with patients while working
on the computer. The article goes so
far as to encourage physicians “to put questions about EHRs into patient
satisfaction surveys.”
When CEC Associates Incorporated
began more than 30 years ago, we were determined from the outset to create our
professional services within a strict framework of concern for our injured
worker clients, and we have demanded that same level of concern from all of our
associates in their work. We have
worked hard to subordinate all of our uses of technology (i.e., computer
applications) with our primary responsibility of developing injured
worker assessments and forensic testimony in a manner that assured our
understanding of the, almost always, difficult realities of our examinee’s
lives.
We are heartened to find the AMA
validating our insistence on care and understanding for clients by urging the
same care and understanding on their professionals. Human Ways to Make the
New Technologies Work!
- What is your perspective on how electronic record taking/keeping has affected your relationship with clients?
- How do you ensure that your clients receive the personal service they were accustomed to before the new technologies evolved?
- How would you rate the effectiveness of your communication when simultaneously taking electronic notes and conversing with your client?
