I believe they said *less* prone to error, not error free, Pat.
I'm inclined to believe it. There is less error when it is neatly typed rather than relying on everyone's ability to read everyone else's handwriting. The computer can also be programmed to ask [and require answers to] questions that a rushed doctor or nurse might forget to answer if they were relying on their memory for the right questions.
Back in the sixties, I remember hearing doctors and engineers giving a reason most of their handwritings were so poor. They claimed it was because their professors in college went so fast during lectures that they had to write notes at a very fast rate of speed (which tended to develop poor penmanship skills). Might be valid in some cases. In others, it might be just a polite excuse.
The quality of my own handwriting is pretty bad. It was so poor during my elementary school years that [after receiving numerous complaints from my teachers] my parents had me examined by a neurologist. He told them that his testing demonstrated there there was nothing neurologically wrong with me. He said that some people just never seem to develop good penmanship skills. So, when I learned to type (in high school), that was a big step up for me. When the computer became prevalent, that really took care of the issue altogether for me.
I don't believe for a minute that the computer makes their work error free. But I do believe that it probably does *reduce* the likelihood of mistakes.
Remember that most computers don't make mistakes. More often than not, it is the fault of the person incorrectly inputting the information the computer acted upon, the programmer who wrote the software who coded it in a way that caused a mistake when it processed the information, or someone else that was involved in the planning process in the software's development. The latter two can't predict every eventuality that could possibly result from something that they weren't able to predict. The former could be in error for a number of different reasons. This could include bad information, getting information about one patient confused with another before inputting it. And it could be a number of other factors. More often, it is the former.
And it leaves a digital (not paper) trail for the lawyers to follow when something goes wrong and someone is harmed. Hopefully, that thought makes the medical folks all a bit more careful in the record keeping process.
Not errror free. Fewer errors.
Regards,
Fred