Patient-Physician Interactions and Electronic Health Records

To the Editor The Viewpoint by Drs White and Danis¹ illustrated some of the ways in which using the EHR can enhance patient-physician collaboration and patient activation.

We would like to point out some additional issues. First, patient-centeredness requires consideration of the patient’s perspective. Not only do the styles of physicians using the EHR vary, but so do the reactions of patients to the computer. For some patients and physicians, sharing the screen may be distracting.² Physicians need to pay attention to patient cues and how this practice affects the encounter. It can be very easy for the interaction to become driven by the computer rather than supported by it.³