I understand David's reluctance about templates. We all receive badly templated notes from other docs, which carry over incorrect or dated information or conflicting statements. And now that patients are getting to see much of their medical records, this will surely become an issue for careless documenters.
Although it is just as common to read a dictated narrative full of boilerplate jargon -- think of your average surgical op note. Not colonoscopy notes though, Jon, those are always a great read. I never know what's around the next turn.
But there are templates...and there are templates. A well thought out template, customized by pertinent Dragon-dictated text, can serve as a comprehensive framework for good documentation. And for those Medicare-required chart statements to qualify a patient for everything from diabetic test strips to home health care visits, templates are a lifesaver.
