CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Appl Clin Inform
DOI: 10.1055/a-2620-3147
Research Article

Typing proficiency among physicians in internal medicine: a pilot study of speed and performance

Francois Bastardot
1   Medical Directorate, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30635)
2   Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN1861)
3   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN27213)
4   Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN1811)
,
Vanessa Kraege
5   Innovation and Clinical Research Directorate, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30635)
3   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN27213)
,
Julien Castioni
3   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN27213)
6   Human Resources Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30635)
7   Division of Internal Medicine, Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30635)
,
Alain Petter
8   Information Technology Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30635)
,
David W. Bates
2   Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN1861)
4   Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN1811)
,
Antoine Garnier
9   Department of Medicine, Hopital cantonal de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN30481)
10   Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland (Ringgold ID: RIN27211)
› Author Affiliations

Supported by: Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine Foundation

Background: Electronic health records (EHR) are widely implemented and consume nearly half of physicians’ work time. Despite the importance of efficient data entry, physicians’ typing skills – potential contributors to documentation burden – remain poorly studied. Objective: To evaluate the typing skills of physicians and their associations with demographic characteristics and professional roles. Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study included a convenience sample of physicians (residents, chief residents, and attending physicians) from the internal medicine division of an academic hospital. Participants completed a one-minute typing test under supervised conditions. The primary outcome was raw typing speed, measured in words per minute (WPM). Secondary outcome was a performance score calculated by subtracting 50 points for each error from the total number of characters typed per minute. Results: Participation rate was 100% (82/82 physicians). Mean age 33.7 ± 7.3 years; 7.2 ± 7.1 years since graduation; 45.1% female. Mean typing speed was 53.4 WPM (range: 31–91 WPM), with 57.3% (47/82) of participants exceeding 50 WPM, a threshold commonly considered as professional. Bivariable analysis showed significant negative association with age (Spearman’s ρ = -0.281, p = 0.011), which was not sustained in the multivariable analysis. No significant association was observed with sex, country of diploma, or role. Upon multivariable analysis, performance score showed significant negative association with age (β = -17.724, p = 0.009) but positive association with years since graduation (β = 16.850, p = 0.021), suggesting a generation- and experience-related interaction. Conclusions: Nearly half of physicians exhibited professional-level typing skills, yet overall performance varied widely and was influenced by both generational factors and clinical experience. Given that documentation burden affects clinicians across all skill levels, both individual and systemic strategies—such as improved EHR design and alternative input methods—should be explored.



Publication History

Received: 18 November 2024

Accepted after revision: 20 May 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
26 May 2025

© . The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany