Why Am I Still Finishing Notes at Home?
Because desk work outgrows clinic time. A 2016 time-and-motion study found physicians spent nearly two hours on EHR and desk work for every hour with patients, plus one to two hours each night.
How much time does the desk take?
Sinsky and colleagues watched 57 physicians across four specialties. For every hour of direct patient care, nearly two more went to the EHR and desk work, and diaries showed one to two hours more each night (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2016).
Where does my evening go?
Mine went to the plan. The HPI was in my head on rounds; the assessment for four problems was not written until 9 pm. Typing it twice, once in my notes and once in the chart, was the real tax.
What actually gives the evening back?
Saying the note where you already think it. Dictate the plan in the hallway after you see the patient, while the potassium and the torsemide dose are fresh. Use a saved phrase for the parts you write every day. Dot Phrases by voice is one way.
That is the habit Chartside's medical dictation is built around: hold Shift, talk, and the text lands in the chart field you're in. The early-access list hears first on December 1.
