By using the cursor to select smaller and smaller groups of letters within this block, a patient can eventually indicate which letter he wishes to add to the message he is composing.
By contrast, covering for another physician almost invariably means inefficiency additional time to learn the patients' relevant history, and often either a direct patient encounter or an outpatient facility visit, all of which greatly add to the cost.
Much of the patient portal technologies meant for small practices are sold as third-party add-ons to EHR systems but lack the necessary capabilities to meet the meaningful use requirements.
Add diagnostic error in the emergency room and walk-in clinics to error in the out-patient offices of medicine and you have more than 200 million errors.