Making the computer invisible: It's all about the personal contact

Technology in the exam room doesn't have to come between you and your patient. Physicians and others tell you how to make your computer, laptop or handheld fit seamlessly into a visit.

By Mark Moran, AMNews correspondent. Feb. 13, 2006.

It's a common fear of physicians upon introducing technology into the physician office -- computers getting between doctors and patients, with physicians and staff spending time staring at a screen instead of looking into a patient's eyes.

This doesn't have to happen. Many physicians have found ways to bring information technology into the exam room without upsetting patient-physician interaction. In fact, studies have shown that patients are comfortable with the presence of a computer in the course of an examination and that they find its use helpful. Other studies have shown that the computer can enhance good communication between physicians and patients.

On the other hand, studies also have shown that if patient-physician communication hasn't gone well or a visit is poorly organized, a computer in the exam room likely will make those problems much worse.

Making a computer as invisible or as unobtrusive as the sphygmomanometer hanging on the wall, experts and physicians say, involves placing the device in the right spot, making eye contact with your patient more than your technology and perhaps even letting patients see what's on screen.

"Whether you are using a paper chart or a computer screen, you have to engage the patient," said family physician Les Wilson, MD. He and his wife, family physician Vicki Erwin-Wilson, MD, are partners in Wilson Family Medicine in Tallahassee, Fla. "I can swivel the computer screen around and show patients part of their medical record. That really helps engage the patient.