thoughts on the news of the day: doctor's devices

hmmm…..

            I have wondered for years why the medical profession didn’t make better use of technology in keeping patients records.  It seemed to me that logging a patient’s history on a laptop disk made lots more sense than keeping a room full of files crammed with papers.  As the years have gone by, doctors and nurses have more and more come to use electronic devices to keep track of patient’s status, medications, etc.

            But there is a troubling trend becoming the norm in medicine.  Apparently more and more doctors and nurses are using smart phones, iPads and other computers to surf the web; checking emails, texting and even shopping on ebay.  So, lets see, a doctor is performing surgery while making phone calls to his family and friends using a bluetooth audio device.  A nurse is checking airline reservations during a heart procedure.  And, while examining a patient, the physician also checks his twitter account. 

            It’s not good.  Medical personnel can easily be distracted by these devices and mistakes are made – costly mistakes.  In one instance, a patient was partially paralyzed because of just such behavior by a doctor.

            I know of a therapist who uses a laptop to keep notes on clients while they are talking about their problems.  H usually explains to his patients what he is doing.  But still, I think tapping away at a computer would be rather disconcerting, even though it actually is in the patients best interest.

            Maybe the best thing to do is to tell the medical professional when we think the behavior is inappropriate.  Of course that is a little difficult to do when you are under anesthetic, but in other cases, it is always OK to safeguard our health.  More and more today, the advice is being given to pay attention to our own medical care. Maybe this is a good place to start.

            hmmm…...