Passwords in healthcare: A doctor’s perspective on why they aren’t working

I’ve been practicing medicine long enough to remember the days before the electronic health record (EHR). My ‘ER note’ for each patient was hand-written on paper, one page long. I carried 50 ER notes around on my clipboard throughout my entire shift. After board rounds, I finished them up and handed them to the Unit Coordinator who would fax them to the coding department and file them into paper medical charts. Written orders and paper scripts were the norm.

My, how far we’ve come. Today, I can’t imagine the hospital without computers. I’m thankful to have access to gigabytes of electronic data to better diagnose and treat my patients. We’ve unleashed a wealth of digital power upon the world of modern medicine. Technologies like EHRs, clinical decision support tools, patient portals, and artificial intelligence all indicate the digital transformation is well underway.

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