So maybe instead of adding a layer of technology and all of the costs, privacy concerns, reliability concerns, etc., all that's really needed is basic handwriting training, practice, and expectations of legibility for doctors.
I think we do need technology for all the other reasons described in the log post - like the limitations of paper forms, running out of space to add important information, transcription errors and so on. Sure, the digital version could generate problems of its own but many of those are predictable and preventable as they're well known from other systems.
Retraining people to have better handwriting in adulthood is difficult, and arguably it's not a problem of competence as much as conditions - trying to write on a clipboard balanced on your knee or in a rush before seeing the next patient.
It's complicated by the fact that reporting/recordkeeping requirements are not always medically based, but derived from best practices decided by administrators/ regulators/ legislators which are usually put in place with the best of intentions but without full regard for transaction costs. In the medical context, economic friction is often a function of time rather than money; doctors are trying to deliver a certain standard of care to every patient each shift, and administrative work eats away at that time, resulting in an opportunity cost. Filling out a form for each patient doesn't seem like such a bi thing, but the costs of any inefficiency in the form design etc. add up.
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So maybe instead of adding a layer of technology and all of the costs, privacy concerns, reliability concerns, etc., all that's really needed is basic handwriting training, practice, and expectations of legibility for doctors.
Something, something razor.
I think we do need technology for all the other reasons described in the log post - like the limitations of paper forms, running out of space to add important information, transcription errors and so on. Sure, the digital version could generate problems of its own but many of those are predictable and preventable as they're well known from other systems.
Retraining people to have better handwriting in adulthood is difficult, and arguably it's not a problem of competence as much as conditions - trying to write on a clipboard balanced on your knee or in a rush before seeing the next patient.
It's complicated by the fact that reporting/recordkeeping requirements are not always medically based, but derived from best practices decided by administrators/ regulators/ legislators which are usually put in place with the best of intentions but without full regard for transaction costs. In the medical context, economic friction is often a function of time rather than money; doctors are trying to deliver a certain standard of care to every patient each shift, and administrative work eats away at that time, resulting in an opportunity cost. Filling out a form for each patient doesn't seem like such a bi thing, but the costs of any inefficiency in the form design etc. add up.