PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pajama time may sound like a cute term, but the American Medical Association suggests it could be ending many doctors' careers early.
The computerization of medicine and the emergence of electronic records have been designed to improve record keeping.
A decade ago, your doctor would write a brief note in their paper chart summarizing your visit.
Today, doctors write notes on the computer but have new taks, like billing, sending prescriptions to the pharmacy, completing insurance forms and participating in national quality initiatives.
You may have noticed your doctor hunting and pecking on the keyboard during your exam. This takes valuable time from the exam and with growing electronic tasks, the work continues at home at the expense of family time. Thus, the term pajama time.
Get more medical reports from Dr. Brian McDonough.
KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
