A study from Northwestern Medicine published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics in January of 2014 compared the doctor-patient relationship when a computer was used for electronic medical records vs when a paper chart visit was used. They tracked eye-gaze movements of the doctor and patient in 100 office visits and felt there was a compromise in the doctor's ability to listen, problem solve, and think creatively.
They suspected that non-verbal visual cues and overall attention to the patient was diluted by their split focus on the computer screen. There are other problems related to electronic medical records that emerge because the treatments used will become more easy to track and can lead to MDs following protocols that are approved rather than individualizing treatments that are unique to each person.
