Transforming the Physician Practice: Interviewing Patients with a Computer

Abstract

Physician practices have evolved dramatically from the solo operations of yesteryear consisting of the husband-physician and wife-nurse team. Today, most physician practices are members of a larger group practice, sometimes a group of three physicians and sometimes multispecialty conglomerates with several hundred physicians. Within these myriad possibilities, there exist a variety of managed care structures, such as health maintenance organizations (HMO), preferred provider organizations (PPO), and physician hospital organizations (PHO). This evolution has resulted in the emergence of physician practice management as a field of study and in the reorganization of physician practices, in such a manner that the quality of patient care is of utmost priority.

Replacing the patient interview with detailed, patient-entered data via computer is refocusing the office encounter on the patient.