Cha-chang chang. This is going to make so much cash.

SinAmos

There's an entire generation of practicing physicians who couldn't give a rat's ass about computers.

markarian

@markarian: and a whole generation who do but have used the current ones daily and realise how right the other generation were

Raz

As a lawyer who used to defend doctors from medical malpractice claim, I have to say that computers can prevent the lions' share of problems caused by doctors.

Starting at point of entry of data, computers aid in allowing other HCPs to read the notations on the chart. This is crucial in an era where drugs with names like Celebrex and Celexa have different and potentially fatal effects.

The most recent PDR is 11"x17" and more than 3500 pages. There's no reason for it to even exist anymore. The data is the sort that begs to be programmed into a database for cross-reference.

Computers can track data and show trends quicker and more reliably than a HCP and can help bring that information to the fore. Additionally, computers can attach data to specific HCP's.

Finally, the most crucial aspect from a defense attorney's standpoint -

A computer can prevent the doctor from changing the chart.

Nothing destroys a defensible case like a doctor changing the chart. They do it and they do it poorly. They do things like alter the chart using a different color ink. Moreover, they get caught. The plaintiff's attorney's first task - before writing the Complaint - is getting the original chart. Not a copy - the original chart. If there's a change, the plaintiff's attorney will find it.

More often than not, a changed chart results in the doctor's Answer being stricken - it's treated as a legal admission of liability. Preventing a doctor from being too clever for his own good is the single most important part of a defense. And if you can prevent a doctor from torpedoing his own case through the oldest trick in the book, you've already won an important battle.

On top of that, they can prevent other unseemly behavior in the hospital. I remember a case involving a man thrown from an SUV, resulting in a shattered pelvis, two broken femurs, multiple shattered ribs, and a collapsed lung. Upon my review of the chart, I discovered that the reason for the plaintiff's discharge was not his speedy recovery but rather his illegal immigration status which resulted in Medicaid not paying his bills. It was remarkable how quickly he suddenly got better once the funds were cut off. I was especially shocked to find the notation that he threw out his crutches in a trash can after being led out of the hospital and then running to his friend's car.

Of course, even though the doctors knew to enter fake info on the chart - no one told the nurses to do the same, resulting in doctor's notations saying that the patient was "Within Normal Limits" across all systems. The nurse's notations showed that he was in excruciating pain and had a fever for the last month of treatment that never dropped below 102.

Computers control data. If you can prevent your staff from getting cute, you've done yeoman's work.

Hospitals - use computers. Your insurance premiums will thank you for it.

OMG! Ponies!

@Raz: Indeed.

My wife is an RN and they've tried several different systems at her hospital over the last 16 years.

They do keep learning though, and I'm sure eventually a good system will come around.

strider_mt2k

@OMG! Ponies!: Could this also allow changes, but keep track of what they were and when they were made? Like in Excel. I mean, if a Dr. prescribes something, and changes it before the med is dispensed, that would show up as a change on a physical chart, but you can't prove when it was made. I agree this would be a good thing. Hell, add in an RFID receiver, and attach tags to the bed, and as they approach the bed or pass the room, it could flash notes or reminders. It could also retrieve info remotely from the monitors on the patient and integrate them into a easy to read summary/flag bad things.

Git Em SteveDave displays attention-grabbing vanity

Yep, totally looks like the Motion Computing C5, and look at that, it's similar in function too.

DisposableInterloper

If they can make one of these for a couple hundred bucks as an internet tablet/casual gaming device they will sell like hot tablets.

feckineejit