There really is no substitute for a keyboard and trackpad found on a laptop. A tablet will not let you enter the information as the patient talks, and thus is very inefficient. You will be left with a pile of charts to finish later, or a break between each patient to do this. You are losing out on the time saving features of the EMR that come with being able to enter information directly at the point of contact. It is wonderful to finish the chart before leaving the room. I have done this since residency and patients generally understand the need to type, and I am usually able to maintain some level of eye contact.
I see many have gone with hard wired PC's in the room. The problem I see with that is not being able to face the patient, or step out of the room with a laptop and finish the chart while blood is drawn or some such activity happens. In my old practice there were connectivity problems with WiFi on the routers. However, I have had minimal problems with laptop wireless connection since opening my own office with an Apple Airport Extreme router. This device is much more reliable than others I have used and I see no reason to use a hard wired PC at this point.
