It seems so. Many EMRs are template-driven, so you have to work within its confines – rather than the other way around. I also was amused at how the doctor immediately announced how much time she had for the visit:
I was surprised, however, to see this new doctor enter the examining room with a computer on a cart. She didn’t greet me or shake my hand. Instead she told me she had 45 minutes for my exam and began asking me questions off the computer screen. When I would begin to answer them, she would cut me off and ask me to only follow the questions on the computer. There was no eye contact from the doctor. I felt as if I was talking to the computer and not a person.
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The computer file needs all its boxes filled in. The well designed EMR will facilitate the act of record keeping, not enslave those who must use it.
The number of EMR systems that are worse than worthless is astounding. If the bad ones are implemented widely we can only expect more of this.
1) time is money, and these systems consume physician time
2) Pay for Performance will use the EMR and look to see that all the boxes are filled in to justify the bill. This too guarantees that the doc’s attention will be on the monitor.
Perhapse the only more anoying practice that I’ve witnessed is the doc dictating his notes throughout the patient interaction. I witnessed this as a student and couldn’t believe that the patient put up with this nonsense.
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