Online documentation

I am in orientation in a hospital in Tennessee doing online documentation, MediTech. I have not worked in a hosptial in over 20 years. Back then we wrote everything with pen and paper.

Thanks to my husband, I am used to the computer world. My observation, which is certainly slanted since I have one more week of orientation, is that it takes more time to document with the computer due to the numerous screens. I am still learning my way around, especially in regards to accessing information when required. We also have stinger carts to pass meds which requires scanning all meds after obtaining them from the accudose system. Then the patient's armband is scanned and recently asking the patient to self-identify was added. This does make is safer to pass meds without fearing one of the five rights is being violated, but it is very time consuming.

It just shows how much things have changed in the hospitals in a quarter of a century.

Dancer3

I like meditech. I think it's fast and easy, compared to tracking down the bedside chart, and leaning against a doorway trying to get words to paper. I like computer charting, especially when I can use the problems from the care plan to do it. I think we spend a lot less time charting now than we did before we went to computer charting.

our meditech system is based on "standards based documentation"

which is kinda like charting by exception. it works pretty efficiently i think :)

Maybe I will like it better the more I get used to that and everything else.

Dancer3