Paperwork Causes Unintended Distractions for Physicians and Nurses

The bigger problem that should be mentioned is hospital bureaucracy which probably creates just as much if not more unintended distractions for physicians and nurses.

What many patients and lay public may not realize is that there is a ton of paperwork that goes into the care of a patient. Regulatory bodies like the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) that accredits hospitals have made it mandatory in many cases though I suspect hospital administration often carries it a step above and beyond what is truly necessary.

What all this “mandatory” paperwork means is that nurses are calling physicians all the time just so they can check a box on a form, and there are a lot of boxes to check...