The "Magic Triangle" Foundation to Effective Use of Information Technology in the Exam Room

The computer has become an integral part of the exam room and plays an important role in provider-patient interaction. The special arrangement of the provider-patient and computer as well as the provider's computer skills and hardware knowledge play a pivotal role in patient satisfaction, engagement and productivity. Patient satisfaction and engagement play an ever increasing role as medicine migrates to value-based reimbursement. How a physician uses the computer and interacts with patients in the exam room can encourage or discourage participation. Many physicians practice in rooms ill designed for optimal computer use. Learning how to adapt and incorporate the computer is a key patient interaction skill required of all clinicians. This paper discusses the research supporting this activity and describes how we are attempting to teach this to resident physicians in our practice.