Ron,
Please forgive me, I can't say I feel that bad for you. You simply have to come up with the habits above. Listed:
1. FINISH THE NOTE IN THE ROOM. A progress note never saved a patient, it doesn't have to be perfect.
2. CTRL - S as everyone has said.
3. Lock the screen. I can even send you a shortcut so that F3 or F9 or whatever locks it.
4. If the chart was pulled from your inbox and then closed, it should go to your deleted items.
5. How big is your office? Maybe you can have triage areas so the MAs use a different computer to send charts to you. My MAs NEVER touch my computers. They have no reason to.
6. Why would your MAs see a note up and close it? Especially given your history.
7. If the note is open when they put a patient in, that would be 15 to 25 times per day a patient has the chance to say, "Does he keep my chart open like that?"
Even so, it is so painful to recreate these notes when the patient is no longer in front of me.
You said it yourself. This is the best time to do the note. When the patient is in the room. There is at least 40% of the time that I have a script, lab, x-ray, instructions, letter to do. I have to do these in the room, so I am done.
No, I don't think it can be more dummy proof. Why don't you commit to one day completing every note in the room. I am not bragging, but I do every note, every set of instructions, every letter, etc. before leaving the room. Sometimes I get behind, but I finish 30 minutes late, and I am done with work.
