Back to the Future: Portable Word Processors and the Electronic Health Record

Abstract

Introduction:

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is now the standard means for recording and maintaining medical notes in most emergency departments. The EHR is an independent cause of physician burnout, and maintenance of the EHR may occupy 30 to 50% of clinical time. There are software solutions available, but they are connected to fixed, expensive, distracting, and bright electronically powered computers. Scribes have been successfully trialed, but are also expensive and attached to computers on wheels. Portable digital word processors in the form of the AlphaSmart Neo is a redundant technology designed primarily for children with typing difficulties. It has recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity among professional writers, journalists, and field researchers for the ultimate distraction-free writing experience. The Alphasmart Neo is cheap, nearly indestructible, intuitive, and requires almost no recharging. It is compatible with all software across Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. Notes are entered by the clinician or scribe, independently of computers, at the bedside, and uploaded to any software via USB cable.

Aim:

To describe the introduction and impact of the AlphaSmart Neo on the EHR in emergency departments across Australia.

Methods:

We will examine the role of the Alphasmart Neo in austere, low power, extreme environments with a demonstration on how to enter, maintain, and transfer an electronic health record independent of any computer or power source.

Discussion:

We believe the AlphaSmart Neo is an ideal, personalized, cheap, effective, and efficient hardware solution to entering notes independent of other software and hardware. It is distraction free at the patient’s bedside, resulting in better notes that the clinician enjoys writing.