The Doctor's Handwriting

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

That other thread got me thinking...

Why do doctors have such poor handwriting?

I had a boss when I was a young man in the debit insurance bussiness, he would always sign stuff differently. He somehow thought if he mixed it up maybe this would help him in court someday. Haha

Are they doing some kind of "cover your ass" move?

Is it a form of art?

Cultish behavior? (My bet)

Most prescriptions aren't handwritten on paper, but some are. Maybe certain drugs have to be?

I had a handwritten prescription a while back for pain pills, due to a minor surgery... I couldn't read it at all. I wonder how the pharmacist did?

Couldn't this be a dangerous situation?

 

[Waning Embers]

Couldn't this be a dangerous situation?

I've read that it causes thousands of deaths per year.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Modern doctors have proven themselves to be proper cockwombles after the Covid fiasco. Once a Doctor is being remunerated by big pharmaceutical companies for administering a product rather than by the patient there is a very large ethical shift. I should add that if their handwriting is poor they should be stood down or whacked with the ruler like we all were in school.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Around here they enter prescriptions right into an electronic tablet and it is transmitted to the pharmacy, hour or so later someone calls. That’s progress I like.

Now, the three text reminders I’ve already gotten about tomorrow’s MRI …………..

 

[Flatfish]

 

[Flatfish]

 

[JOHN72]

My mother writes the same thing, when she asks me to shop for the supermarket. I'm not sure, but she may be of Jewish descent. .

 

[Briarcutter]

That other thread got me thinking...

Why do doctors have such poor handwriting?

I had a boss when I was a young man in the debit insurance bussiness, he would always sign stuff differently. He somehow thought if he mixed it up maybe this would help him in court someday. Haha

Are they doing some kind of "cover your ass" move?

Is it a form of art?

Cultish behavior? (My bet)

Most prescriptions aren't handwritten on paper, but some are. Maybe certain drugs have to be?

I had a handwritten prescription a while back for pain pills, due to a minor surgery... I couldn't read it at all. I wonder how the pharmacist did?

Couldn't this be a dangerous situation?

Interesting topic, I wonder if it's always been that way or a recent shift?

 

[Briarcutter]

No excuse for bad penmanship in a profession so well educated. I'm not saying all had poor penmanship, but the ones I witnessed could surely had. I wonder if it has anything to do with the old practice of writing in Latin?

 

[Infantry23]

Personally, I would take a guess that it's due to their hectic schedules and persistent practice of over-booking their days with too many patients (that's why you have to wait until 10:15 to be seen for your 9:30 appointment). I bet it's a hold-over from medical school in the days before laptops when they had to hand-jam notes and write furiously during their classes. Short-hand, abbreviations, etc all leading to poor penmanship.

 

[Snook]

Every doctor I've interacted with has seemed like they're way too busy and important to sit down, listen to my questions, and give helpful answers and advice. I've always assumed that their terrible handwriting was part of this demeanor. They're simply too busy to take the time to legibly write your prescription. Kind of a, "Okay get the hell outta here we'll send you a fat bill in a couple weeks" sort of thing.

That's just my experience, though.

 

[bullet08]

Why do you think they became doctors? They can chop up chicken livers, but can't write "chicken" to save their lives.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's called short hand. I am old enough to have taken a class in high school on this. It is a system of writing developed to make writing quicker, especially for things like taking dictation and such.
Look it up.

I don't remember much about it now, because I never really had an opportunity to use it outside of taking notes in college.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I realize it's short hand writing.

It's still too sloppy to make out sometimes.

 

[Infantry23]

I get a chapped ass from these doctors who think their time is more valuable than my time.

Me: "Sure, I can be there for a 9:30 appointment because I have to get back to my job by 10:30."
Me: (arrives at 9:10 for paperwork and basic courtesy)
Receptionist: "Fill out this shit ton of paperwork that you and/or your wife filled out just last month."
Me: (fills out paperwork, legibly. Turns in said paperwork)
*crickets, crickets, crickets*
.......
50 minutes later....
Nurse: "The doctor will see you now."


I always wonder why the hell I am being seen at 10:15 for a 9:30 appointment.

 

[Briarcutter]

Kind of a, "Okay get the hell outta here we'll send you a fat bill in a couple weeks" sort of thing.

And don't forget to book your next visit. They've always got time to schedule more tests! Cha-Ching$$$$

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I get a chapped ass from these doctors who think their time is more valuable than my time.

Me: "Sure, I can be there for a 9:30 appointment because I have to get back to my job by 10:30."
Me: (arrives at 9:10 for paperwork and basic courtesy)
Receptionist: "Fill out this shit ton of paperwork that you and/or your wife filled out just last month."
Me: (fills out paperwork, legibly. Turns in said paperwork)
*crickets, crickets, crickets*
.......
50 minutes later....
Nurse: "The doctor will see you now."


I always wonder why the hell I am being seen at 10:15 for a 9:30 appointment.

I've often wondered if some of the paperwork is just busy work.

A lot of it seems redundant.

 

[Briarcutter]

I always wonder why the hell I am being seen at 10:15 for a 9:30 appointment.

I realize it would be a ARPITA for us patients but if we would all walk out and cancel our appointments if we weren't seen on time it may change their attitudes.

 

[Hillcrest]

I get a chapped ass from these doctors who think their time is more valuable than my time.

Me: "Sure, I can be there for a 9:30 appointment because I have to get back to my job by 10:30."
Me: (arrives at 9:10 for paperwork and basic courtesy)
Receptionist: "Fill out this shit ton of paperwork that you and/or your wife filled out just last month."
Me: (fills out paperwork, legibly. Turns in said paperwork)
*crickets, crickets, crickets*
.......
50 minutes later....
Nurse: "The doctor will see you now."


I always wonder why the hell I am being seen at 10:15 for a 9:30 appointment.

The problem isn't with the doctors. Most practices are owned by hospitals and large corporations that put profit above all else. Also 'management' has increased over 3800% since 2008 while caregivers have decreased. In addition, since the Obamacare regulations went into effect, Doctors are now required to enter your data (not just their notes) into the computer system rather than nurses or receptionists or medical assistants. Its a nationwide problem that Doctors are complaining about and many (family practice) are retiring since nothing is being done about it at the federal level. They are not secretaries and computer input clerks so requiring them to do the input or be fired is demeaning but I can't go any further without risking a ban. I have a relative who is a doctor and has to work 4-5 hours every day after work doing all the computer work because she won't shortchange the 'care' during the visit.

As for handwriting neatness ... that has always been the result of laziness and arrogance.

Also the delay in seeng you may be the result of the doctor being called to an emergency. It does happen.

 

[Infantry23]

I realize it would be a ARPITA for us patients but if we would all walk out and cancel our appointments if we weren't seen on time it may change their attitudes.

I have done this before. My wife was not happy with me