Computers in the Exam Room--Friend or Foe?

At first, it might be hard to imagine how using an electronic medical record in your practice and in the exam room could improve communication with patients. In fact, it may be easier to see the computer as just another thing that gets in the way of our having meaningful interactions with patients—a third wheel, so to speak. Because patients view communication as the most important factor in the clinician-patient relationship, we certainly don’t want to compromise it in any way.1 Does the computer in the exam room assist or hinder good clinician-patient communication?