Why do doctors have bad handwriting?
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I know this stupid doctor who signs off with just a circle. Just add a few lines and it becomes a tortoise.
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Doctors need this:
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some non-doctors' are equally bad
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yeah... i was a medic in the army and spent 6 months of those 30 months in the dispensary...
strangely, all the doctors who came and went (even those on duty from other units) had pretty horrific handwriting
i remember one of them could not decipher his own prescription form (he admitted it in private when chitchatting and said he had to read the diagnosis )
which brings me to this: for docs with bad handwriting, since medication is so important that it could be life or death to a patient, take 2 seconds more to write properly.. doesn't hurt right?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:It's a stereotype la...not all doctors have bad handwriting but it is true that most of us use abbreviations, so laypersons may not understand. Medical terminology is long, many latin terms and doctors are always in a rush each day...so instead of writing 'Diagnosis: pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta' the doctor may quickly scribble 'Dx: PLEVA'...Instead of writing 'Take two Amoxicillin capsules three times a day for 1 week', it is common to write Cap. Amoxil 2/2 tds x 1/52.
Unless you understand our shorthand and abbreviations, you won't understand what we write. But that said, it is true some doctors have bad handwriting.
Now the hospitals and polyclinics are moving towards electronic prescribing, so errors arising from bad handwriting will be a thing of the past. -
They sian their doctor license very easy to get mahz....Originally posted by the Bear:which brings me to this: for docs with bad handwriting, since medication is so important that it could be life or death to a patient, take 2 seconds more to write properly.. doesn't hurt right? -
becoz what they write is a doctrine, no need to understand at ur levelOriginally posted by MooKu:Why?
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So mushy, how many patients you have killed so far?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:It's a stereotype la...not all doctors have bad handwriting but it is true that most of us use abbreviations, so laypersons may not understand. Medical terminology is long, many latin terms and doctors are always in a rush each day...so instead of writing 'Diagnosis: pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta' the doctor may quickly scribble 'Dx: PLEVA'...Instead of writing 'Take two Amoxicillin capsules three times a day for 1 week', it is common to write Cap. Amoxil 2/2 tds x 1/52.
Unless you understand our shorthand and abbreviations, you won't understand what we write. But that said, it is true some doctors have bad handwriting.
Now the hospitals and polyclinics are moving towards electronic prescribing, so errors arising from bad handwriting will be a thing of the past.
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The thing is, why don't you all take just 1 min of your time to write out neatly?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:It's a stereotype la...not all doctors have bad handwriting but it is true that most of us use abbreviations, so laypersons may not understand. Medical terminology is long, many latin terms and doctors are always in a rush each day...so instead of writing 'Diagnosis: pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta' the doctor may quickly scribble 'Dx: PLEVA'...Instead of writing 'Take two Amoxicillin capsules three times a day for 1 week', it is common to write Cap. Amoxil 2/2 tds x 1/52.
Unless you understand our shorthand and abbreviations, you won't understand what we write. But that said, it is true some doctors have bad handwriting.
Now the hospitals and polyclinics are moving towards electronic prescribing, so errors arising from bad handwriting will be a thing of the past.
Then, there's no need for measures such as electronic prescribing isn't it? -
It's the heavy workload- some docs see 80 to 100 patients a day (esp. those in hospitals) so they are rushed for time..
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many docs can't remember the exact spelling of long drug names and would prefer to scribble off instead
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dont you ever heard people call people who have bad handwriting, their handwriting as " Doctor handwriting". All the docs i met haad bad handwriting.
Not surprise if someone died because of their bad scribble.
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Because it shows that they are doctors mah.
Must blame the first ever doctor who had bad handwriting and made every other doctor follow him. -
*sigh.
No wonder i cannot be a doctor.
Actually, it's kinda stereotyping la, some of them actually wrote very well.
Cheers.
C.K -
Because they want to act chim mah
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jealous because you didn't get accepted in medicineOriginally posted by laurence82:So mushy, how many patients you have killed so far? -
doc write so messy....sld ask them go back pri sch and learn writing...
tik their son oso cant read wat they write haha -
You can be a doc.. just write in scribbles..Originally posted by CKeer:*sigh.
No wonder i cannot be a doctor.
Actually, it's kinda stereotyping la, some of them actually wrote very well.
Cheers.
C.K
Really i never met a doc who takes his time to write well..
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Originally posted by oxford mushroom:jealous because you didn't get accepted in medicine
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i think mayb the drugs and sydrome name are too long bah..beside i think when they study they have to write alot of long long thesis therefore they need to write fast..
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how you know i cute!Originally posted by boy in blues:
maybe they see you cute cute feel like sayang you, so hand tremble cannot write properly i am as "cute" as mini-me hor. -
Hmm okaaay... if the names are long and to be speedy doctors scribble maybe I can say "erm, alright...". But since some (or many, or all, which one?) doctors write in shorthand and abbreviations, they should have a bit more time to write more neatly and legibly no?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:It's a stereotype la...not all doctors have bad handwriting but it is true that most of us use abbreviations, so laypersons may not understand. Medical terminology is long, many latin terms and doctors are always in a rush each day...so instead of writing 'Diagnosis: pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta' the doctor may quickly scribble 'Dx: PLEVA'...Instead of writing 'Take two Amoxicillin capsules three times a day for 1 week', it is common to write Cap. Amoxil 2/2 tds x 1/52.
Unless you understand our shorthand and abbreviations, you won't understand what we write. But that said, it is true some doctors have bad handwriting.
Now the hospitals and polyclinics are moving towards electronic prescribing, so errors arising from bad handwriting will be a thing of the past. -
Originally posted by poon cho tang:many docs can't remember the exact spelling of long drug names and would prefer to scribble off instead
but the names are long la... -
Electronic medical records and prescription is the way to go.
I used to do that all the time in the Veteran Affairs hospital in the US - they have CPRS which is probably one of the few things that the Federal government got right.
Has everything from radiology retrieval, ECG retrieval, drug, and nursing orders, appointments scheduling etc.
Can't believe I did all these more than 3 years ago.
Where is Singapore at with electronic medical records? -
There's still the "typo error" arising from the "human" factor. It will only be a thing of the past when the "human" is removed from the equation.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Now the hospitals and polyclinics are moving towards electronic prescribing, so errors arising from bad handwriting will be a thing of the past. -
Has happened in public hospitals but in stages...radiology has completely gone electronic, so much so polyclinics now outsource digital radiographs to India for reporting. Electronic prescribing is the norm and housemen now type their discharge summaries into the computer instead of writing them. Doctors can call up medical records of patients from a different hospital or polyclinic...private hospitals have some way to go before they can integrate their records with public hospitals but that will come.Originally posted by Dogtor:Electronic medical records and prescription is the way to go.
I used to do that all the time in the Veteran Affairs hospital in the US - they have CPRS which is probably one of the few things that the Federal government got right.
Has everything from radiology retrieval, ECG retrieval, drug, and nursing orders, appointments scheduling etc.
Can't believe I did all these more than 3 years ago.
Where is Singapore at with electronic medical records?