Medical record analysis with multiple computer monitors: tips for efficiency

Attorneys and legal nurse consultants are increasingly performing medical records analysis using multiple monitors and Adobe Acrobat.

Advantages of multiple monitors for medical records analysis

1. Multiple monitors make you more efficient. Time is money. Multiple monitors increase your speed which therefore increases the amount of work product that you turn out which therefore increases your revenue.
2. Multiple monitors provide more work space. There’s no more toggling in-between screens if you only have one screen. There’s the ability to view multiple documents at the same time.

Tips for purchasing multiple monitors

1. Buy the largest monitors you can afford that are practical for the workspace that you have.
2. Buy monitors that can be adjusted from landscape to portrait mode. Widescreen monitors are better for viewing in portrait mode. A portrait mode monitor will enable you to see an entire PDF page at one time.
2. It’s visually large enough to be able to read without any alterations. And if it’s a large file you can go through it page by page just hitting page down and it works just like flipping through a book and it really makes reviewing a medical record a lot easier and a lot faster
3. Buy monitors that are high definition capable. Everything is going to high definition with HDMI cables like we have on our TVs and our Blu-ray players. It gives you the best resolution on your monitors and when you’re using demonstrative evidence you want to be able to see things as clear as you possibly can. And plus if you’re staring at a computer for 40 hours a week it can really start to hurt your eyes if you’re not looking at something that’s very clear.
4. Buy all of your monitors that are the same brand. And the reason I say that is if you have same brand monitors then all the drivers and all of the software that runs those monitors is going to be either identical or very similar.
5. Buy monitors that can be mounted on the wall if your desk is up against a wall. This frees up workspace on your desk.
6. Make sure your computer will support multiple monitors. I recommend talking to a computer consultant or the equipment manufacturer’s sales representative to ensure your computer will work smoothly with two monitors. Older machines may not be able to retrofitted. I’ve spent thousands of dollars in computer consulting time to come to this truth.

Do you have multiple monitors? What has your experience been like with them?

This guest blog post was prepared by Lee Houston, BSN RN.

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