the Electronic MEDical DOctor

In the transitioning to electronic medical records, one skill that I think gets frequently overlooked is that of typing.  Physicians are very focused on efficiency and workflow.  We will go out of our way to mandate that the tongue depressors be placed in one particular drawer or jar vs the other just to shave a few seconds off of every patient visit by not having to reach our hands several inches more than necessary.  If we are now working in a setting that requires us to type or enter data electronically, wouldn’t it make sense to develop our skills in typing to shave off what could be several minutes to some providers (or even just a few seconds) per patient visit.  I’m not just talking about the providers that we all know that are still entering data in their keyboard using only two fingers (you know who you are).  While those individuals may benefit most from brushing up on their typing, even the physician who already types at a fairly decent rate will benefit in time from increasing their words per minute.  As I will comment on below, a 30% increase in your current typing abilities could save you well over 100 hours a year in administrative time.

So how do we get started in improving our typing:

Step #1 Find out your current speed (you can skip this step if you are not touch typing, i.e. still looking at the keyboard when you type)

I think it’s good to get a baseline of where you are right now.  Below is a link to a site that has a very easy typing test, they don’t use any numbers or punctuation so it has some inaccuracies, but I like quick and easy.  I noticed from my score below that I am actually about 15 WPM slower then when I was in undergrad, which is interesting since I type quite a lot with my electronic medical records.

Visit the Typing Test and try

I have not seen any good hard data on what an ideal speed should be for a physician, a quick Google search though for medical transcriptionists recommended over 75.  Maybe someone who has seen this data can comment on it.  My suggestion though is to simply use your own number as a baseline and work to improve it by 30%.  If you do the math on that, say you spend 2 hours typing a day (probably a low ball figure).  Well then 2 hours a day x 5 days a week = 10 hours.  10 hours a week x 48 weeks a year (lucky person with 4 weeks vacation) = 480 hours typing a year.  480 hours x 70% (30% increase in efficiency) = 336 hours a year.  That’s a gain of 144 hours a year.  Is this worth your attention yet?  I can see a lot of patients in 144 hours.  Best of all you didn’t have to make your nurses mad by moving the tongue depressors.

Step #2 Improve your typing

There are hundred s of different programs to increase your typing out there, just Google it if you don’t believe me.  The key is to get started with one and stick with it.  The other key is to train yourself to use the correct keys with the correct fingers, without looking at your fingers.  Until you can stop looking at your fingers when you type you are only going to be able to type so fast.  I will highlight two quick options

Option #1 Online Courses (cost:free)

Lots of free online courses exist, although I am a little disappointed with the quality of their web designs.  They do however get the job done.  The above website typingweb.com offers basic and intermediate courses.  They also offer a free option to qualify for a printable certificate in your typing ability.  I like the underlying pictures that show you which hands and fingers you should use as you type.  While it may seem really tedious at first, going through each and every key and the appropriate finger placement is crucial to increasing your typing speed.  This may require a lot of unlearning for some.

Option #2 Paid Program (varies, option below ~$16)

Just like there are many online options for learning to type, there are lots of computer programs as well.  Clicking the above image will take you to an amazon link for Mavis Beacon, now in her 25th edition.  I think I learned to type back in junior high using her 4th edition.  You can quickly scan sites like amazon.com and find a program that works best for you.  The advantage to purchasing a program is you don’t have to deal with all of the online advertisements and you get a set curriculum/course that may be more motivating for you since you had to put some money into it.

Step #3 Keep it up (go back to Step #1)

Now that you have a set plan or curriculum, keep it up.  Keep practicing, think of those 144 hours you are gaining every year with your investment.  Practice your typing skills by writing emails to friends and family.  Most of all keep referring back to the typing speed test of your choice and monitor your improvement.  While I know that no one went to medical school thinking they needed to be better transciptionists, and maybe that’s why it is so hard to get physicians to work on their typing, this does help our patients. There are large benefits time wise and even with patient interaction by working on this.  I will bring my laptop into the room with my patient and type what they are telling me while they are telling it to me.  Because I can touch type I make it a point to look the patient directly in their eyes while I am typing to make sure I do not lose the full visual interaction between myself and my patients.  I will afterwards scan what I have typed and even read it back to the patient (usually with them looking at my screen) to make sure I got their histories correct.  I find they really appreciate this part and are the best editors you will have to make sure you got everything down correctly.

Feel free to leave your comments and feedback below

Special thanks to Justin Collier, MD, CMIO TriStar Division at HCA who provided me the suggestion of creating this post.

Welcome to my newly updated website.  I have many plans for this page, the broadest of which is creating a repository of resources for medical providers in today’s technologically inundated world.  Please feel free to provide feedback on ways I can serve you better with this site and thanks for dropping by to visit.