Jimmie,
No apologies. You statement was totally apropos. The EMR is just a tool, to be used for good or ill. But, here I go in my Cassandra mode again..
I only wonder... before the EMR, was it possible to see 60 patients a day and be that sloppy? Or did the fact that you needed to actually create even a minimal note maybe slow you down just enough to think about the issue, if even for a moment? I find if I do not use a template for my physical, for example, I have to think for at least a few milliseconds about what the heart really sounded like, or the neck felt like. I may miss some bullet points, but what is there sure seems more accurate. By not templating, it makes my note a little later in the day kind of like a mini-presentation to an attending... me, in this case. It is where my serious thinking get done. Speaking for myself, at least, I cannot imagine feeling "done" when I walked out of the room.
