MEDICAL-STUDENTS AND HOUSESTAFFS OPINIONS OF COMPUTERIZED ORDER-WRITING

Background. Greater use of computers has been touted as one way in whi ch health care quality can be enhanced while reducing costs. The autho rs assessed factors associated with acceptance of computerized order-w riting. Method. From April 1990 through October 1991 a survey was admi nistered to 275 medical students and housestaff who used computer work stations to write all their orders on the general medicine wards at Wi shard Memorial Hospital. The survey assessed computer literacy, ease o f workstation use, effects on practice and time management, and useful ness of information provided. Results. A total of 212 (77%) of the com puter-workstation users responded. Opinions were generally positive. T hose of junior students were the most positive, with opinions declinin g progressively for senior students, interns, and residents. The house staff were most critical of time spent using the workstations, althoug h they required less time to write orders than the students did. Concl usion. The favorableness of the respondents' opinions declined as the level of training increased, a trend that was independent of computer literacy. Hence, increasing computer use by physicians will probably r equire modification of the educational and socialization process rathe r than mere reliance on increasing computer literacy.