Robotic Medicine: How To Turn Back Time.

Here's a story about the practice of robotic medicine:

Ring Ring

On the other end:  Dr, your partner ordered a CBC and BMP for am, but wrote it for 9/17/10

Doctor :  When did they order it?

On the other end:  The order was written at 1:30 PM today

Doctor:  Are you asking me if you want me to turn back time and have the lab drawn this morning?

On the other end:  I'm just clarifying

Doctor:  Banging head on the table

I was informed that no tables were harmed during this conversation

This kind of interruption to a hospitalist's day increases the risk of bad patient care when they are concentrating on difficult tasks while bombarded with foci of inattentional deafness.