Yes, mostly paperless now in minors and for many majors too. I suppose we're hybrid
really. You can do complete paperless if you want, or you can scribble your notes on
paper - which is often useful in majors for a variety of reasons - leaving just the
bare diagnostic stuff for the system. Even then, the scribbled notes will get
scanned into the system within 24 hours so that the whole record will be
electronically archived by that stage. Blood results are integrated and I'm hoping
PACS arrives soon. But we encourage our doctors not to duplicate: "you can type
everything or you can scribble, but please don't do both!" Couldn't live without it
now, like my long-suffering secretary!
AF
--- Rowley Cottingham <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Signature? I have a scanned one for all my correspondence. It is so
> accurate you can even see where the ink has soaked into the paper a little
> more as I have paused or been brushed across with a fast hand-sweep. I'm
> pretty sure you have now gone paperless in minors with Symphony?
>
> /Rowley./
>
> This bit appended for those with browsers that can't do proper threading:
>
> > *From:* Adrian Fogarty <[log in to unmask]>
> > *To:* [log in to unmask]
> > *Date:* Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:32:19 +0100
> >
> > I agree, with very large departments, say, 6-10 consultants, it seems
> > ludicrous to have 3-5 secretaries. With that many consultants, the same
> > admin burden is shared among a greater number of consultants, which
> > means it's more likely that each can do more of his own typing etc.
> >
> > Like Rowley, I've moved away from dictation (in the NHS at least). I
> > used to dictate, then had to proofread the draft, then often had to
> > reproofread the copy one final time! It was very laborious and
> > inefficient. Now, for anything under a page or two, I type it myself,
> > and the overall time is no worse than dictation with proofing.
> >
> > But when I do pages and pages (of medicolegals) I resort to
> > old-fashioned dictation, but then the proofing is much slicker as my
> > legal secretary's used to the routine. Horses for courses I suspect!
> >
> > Like Matt I have the email/edit/print routine set up with my NHS
> > secretary, but bizarrely we often reverse roles! One example: she types
> > up all my references (apart from the really important ones), emails the
> > copy to me to edit, then I email it back for her to file, print and
> > post. If only my SHOs knew that! But then again I often email
> > references direct, i.e. not an attachment, just a plain email. I figure
> > the hospital domain address must be every bit as secure/persuasive as a
> > signature on headed notepaper. I certainly accept such references when
> > recruiting.
> >
> > But I'm fortunate I can touch type, I can "lay the thoughts directly
> > onto the screen" in an automatic intuitive fashion, and much faster
> > than I can handwrite. Am surprised all kids aren't taught to touch type
> > nowadays. I can't remember the last time I wrote anything significant
> > with pen and paper, other than my signature.
> >
> > You know, I like to vex my plastics colleagues who insist on knowing a
> > patient's handedness by telling them 1) we're all essentially
> > ambidextrous; traditional handedness relates primarily to the manual
> > expression of language, which is increasingly ambidextrous via QWERTY
> > keyboards, and 2) you're accepting this patient because you're
> > repairing this tendon/nerve irrespective of which hand it is! Who
> > knows, perhaps the kids born in 2055 or 2105 won't have handedness
> > anymore; whether it's QWERTY keyboards or something much more
> > sophisticated, I doubt they'll be handwriting!
> >
> > AF
>
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