When I left my old group practice to go solo, I loved the idea of EMR because of space and cost savings vs. paper, but hated the idea of sitting facing a computer and typing away while talking with a patient, only looking at them occasionally - absolutely contrary to my vision of the small town doc I was trying to evolve into - so this is what I did:

I bought a Lenovo Thinkvantage X60 tablet PC running Windows Vista. It can be used as a standard laptop, but also has a reversible screen that lays down like a tablet and on which I write directly, rather than typing at all. The handwriting recognition is standard with the PC and outstanding in its ability. This thing interprets my chicken scratch better than my staff ever could (I received honors in writing like a doctor in Med School). It is very fast and integrates very well with AC. I have no problem with battery life, plugging it in to the wall to recharge while I am sitting at my desk over my noon break. I connect wirelessly with the standard out-of-the-box router I got from my DSL provider and wireless HP multifunction laser printer at the front desk.

My solution for the stand is to pull the foot rest out (not the stirrups) on my 1940's vintage exam table which is angled in the middle of the room and use it to rest my tablet while facing the patient directly. It's the ultimate melding of traditional and modern and I rarely have to look away from the patient. I get equal numbers of compliments on my classic antique table as I do on my cool modern charting system, often from the same patient. AND they appreciate being able to sit in a more comfortable side chair than perched on an exam table for the interview portion of the exam.

Dan Parker, MD
Solo FM
Foley, MO