The joke is so old, it's a cliché. Personally, I'm convinced doctors are just using it as an excuse at this point. A self-fulfilling prophecy. A dog chasing its tail. The Ouroboros of handwriting. Yes, I'm talking about not being able to read your doctor's writing.
We've all done it: squinted at a note from our doctor in utter confusion. Is that a one or a seven? A four, or a nine? Seems like that distinction might be important when dealing with numbers of pills, or grams of literally any drug, or number of times a day said drug should be taken.
If we have a hard time reading the occasional note from our doctor, imagine what pharmacists go through. Well, Google wants to fix this problem, and is working with pharmacists to explore ways to decipher doctor handwriting, the tech giant announced at its annual conference in India on December 19th.
Google is attempting to succeed where other tech companies have long ago tried and failed. I wish them luck, but I'm not holding my breath. I mean, what could go wrong with AI-interpreted handwritten prescriptions?
Good thing we have a Real Doctor on the internet to explain the scientific reasoning behind this long-mocked phenomenon, and also offer us a modern solution that's also rooted in science. It's called technology, and we already have it at our fingertips. Just type it, doctors. Problem solved.
