AHDI Lounge

As I put pen to paper, I think…

Pen to paper?

In the medical transcription world, our fingertips have been flying across keyboards for decades. We formalize the thoughts of those who rely on us to document what they can’t. Whether because their notes must be automated or they speak more articulately than they write or because dictation is more efficient or because they know our spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting is better than theirs, clinicians rely on us to preserve their patient encounters.

In clinical settings, however, Paper Mate, Bic, Pilot and Uni-ball, not to mention the generic pens emblazoned with medication names, still circulate next to the paper clips, phones, lab order sheets and prescription pads in a clutter at the nurses’ station. (By the way, what happens when your sixth grader grabs a pen for his backpack and ends up advertising Cialis or Tri-Cyclen Lo while completing his social studies question of the day?) Even as electronic health records and computerized provider order entry seem to take over the clinical documentation world as we know it, physicians continue to put pen to paper to document a patients’ daily progress, assess their lab results and summarize their progress on a low sodium diet at home.

Do those who continue to handwrite their notes savor their technology-free moments? Do they find their thoughts have the room to flow and develop? Or, do they wish they could document more quickly, having the option to dictate or point-and-click? Do they feel guilty that they prefer the pen when they have an electronic alternative?

I suspect that for each clinician, the answers are different. As I think about “pen to paper,” I go to my keyboard to preserve my thoughts. I don’t have a problem with my pen; it is simply the reality of how we share our ideas with others today. I think about how this reality impacts how we share information and preserve our unique inscription in a QWERTY world.