The point and click mentality to document a patient's record may offer some benefits in documenting a variety of objective issues; but it clearly fails to provide a personal view of the patient. With the requirement that the entries made by point and click indicate the level of "approved coding" that can be used, it is not unusual to see an extra item clicked to get to the next level.
Isn't it ironic that the watchword, if it isn't documented / written, it didn't happen. What about now that it is documented, did it happen. The system in an attempt to obtain valid quantitative measurement information now promotes fraud. Doctors have been heard to say, "Why not just one more click for an extra $10.00. Doing this record keeping already slows down the number of patients that can be seen. When is the compensation for service going to equal the total effort."
The design and function of an EMR really fails to address the basic issues necessary to improve the efficient operation of a practice.