More on the Downside of Electronic Medical Records

In the face of so much cheerleading, we have previously cautioned here, here and here. This is a doctor writing in the New York Times:

In short, the computer depersonalizes medicine. It ignores nuances that we do not measure but clearly influence care….. I have half-joked with residents that they could type "child has no head" in the middle of a computer record – and it might be missed.

A box clicked unintentionally is as detrimental as an order written illegibly – maybe worse because it looks official. It takes more effort and thought to write a prescription than to pull up a menu of medications and click a box. I have seen how choosing the wrong box can lead to the wrong drug being prescribed.

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