Speaking as a patient, I've vastly preferred my visits to doctors who had a laptop with an inverted touch screen. Fewer questions about what was already in my (occasionally quite large) medical history - they could find it. Access to the relevant info like X-rays or blood tests, with more information than printouts carry, and adjustable contrast on digital X-rays. And the full history of every similar test I've ever had. My visits have been faster and far more useful every single time.
Bring on the tech! I'm tired of having doctor visits where I have to re-state my history when they can read it in a second, and they're tired of lengthy reviewing of my data before the visit (if they do so at all). The only complaint I've heard from the doctors / nurses (and I've asked every single one I've encountered with them) is that they hate using a pen and hate the interface (missing the maximize button and closing the application, for instance).
The nurses in particular loved that the doctors typed. Universally, they've said they had fewer medication errors, fewer "what is that?" questions for the doctors, and they get a bit of history and can see abnormal changes and question them in case of a mis-type. Which happens, but usually goes unnoticed if it's not on a computer.
YMMV, of course. And theirs.
Billing and medical: why do they belong together? I doubt the doctor is also the accountant in even the smallest clinic, and they have no need to see the information. It's more noise, doesn't help them, and can influence their perception of the patient in front of them.
The tech has been around for years, the hard problem is getting the doctors to actually use the tech. The doctor I used to go to seemed to have no idea who I was I why I was there every time I showed up for an appointment, despite the fact that there was a perfectly good computer standing on his desk where he could quickly have looked up everything he needed to know.
yeah, the medical coders will occasionally have coaching sessions for their doctors on how to drop more valuable words in their notes, but I haven't seen docs get much more in the weeds with the money.
Bring on the tech! I'm tired of having doctor visits where I have to re-state my history when they can read it in a second, and they're tired of lengthy reviewing of my data before the visit (if they do so at all). The only complaint I've heard from the doctors / nurses (and I've asked every single one I've encountered with them) is that they hate using a pen and hate the interface (missing the maximize button and closing the application, for instance).
The nurses in particular loved that the doctors typed. Universally, they've said they had fewer medication errors, fewer "what is that?" questions for the doctors, and they get a bit of history and can see abnormal changes and question them in case of a mis-type. Which happens, but usually goes unnoticed if it's not on a computer.
YMMV, of course. And theirs.
Billing and medical: why do they belong together? I doubt the doctor is also the accountant in even the smallest clinic, and they have no need to see the information. It's more noise, doesn't help them, and can influence their perception of the patient in front of them.