There are a great many jokes made about the handwriting skills of
most doctors, and it was truly a problem before transcriptions became
commonplace. As you might imagine, some medical mistakes were made
because of misunderstandings or getting facts twisted due to the
archaic ways of documentation.fifty jobs
The more times that data is re-entered, the more possibilities there
are for errors. Doctors' handwritten notes were often very brief
and a nurse who got them from a file to type up for more permanent
records would often take the liberty of filling in the spaces or gaps
as seen fit to make sense of the reports. The reports were typed on
carbon paper to produce two or three copies.
If you've ever used a typewriter and produced an original and carbon
copies, you are already aware that any mistakes on the original
appear on the carbon copies. Any attempt to correct the original
using correction fluid or tape resulted in an even larger mess on
the carbons. It was an antiquated process and fortunately, technology
has progressed a great deal in this regard.
A single mistake on the part of a nurse often made a great deal of
difference in how an illness was treated. As you might assume, a
mistake could be the difference in life and death for the patient.
