Bert:
PC/TABLET: I suspect that most people with EMRs do have fixed PCs in the room, and type in the room with the patient. I don't think there's a thing wrong with that, necessarily, and I might do it myself under different circumstances. My point was only that you have to be careful not to let data entry come between you and the patient (this is also true of written note-taking). It sounds like you have a good setup.
That said, I am curious as to how you keep sticky, snotty fingers off your computers in a pediatric practice. It would drive me frickin' nuts to come into a room, start to type, and have my fingers adhere to the keyboard or mouse, or have to wipe sticky mess off the monitor.
You would think that moms would keep this from happening, but no. Some of the moms around here will watch their toddler push a rolling stool up to the shelf, stand on tiptoes and pitch jars of medical supplies off in the floor (just before the child loses their balance and crashes to the ground (I changed to plastic jars after this happened the first time; how that kid didn't get cut to pieces, I have no idea)). I can just see this happening to my computer peripherals.
SCREEN LOCK: I don't remember that post, Bert. I tried to search for it and couldn't find it. Why don't you post a link to that post?
DNS: As far as Dragon Naturally Speaking, I ideally use that right after the patient encounter, outside the room, in the HPI, PMH, ROS and Plan fields. Note that I am converting (sometimes extensive) paper charts over to AC. Some of those data fields would involve a *lot* of typing. Also, I have gotten used to dictating in a conversational style, with lots of "story-telling", and that would be impossible for me if I had to type.
