Essay topics TPO 46 Integrated Writing Task

The reading and the lecture are both about storing medical records in electronic databases instead of writing on papers. The author discusses three benefits that the electronic records have; Conversely, the lecturer refuses all of them and mentions they are uncertain.

Firstly, the author argues that electronic records reduce the costs of transferring and copying data, and they do not need space. In contrast, according to the professor, doctors will use paper records for emergency backup, so they do not throw them away. Hence, doctors should still pay storage costs, and keep a paper-based record.

Secondly, the writer disputes that by using electronic records, fewer errors will occur because computers have legible fonts, so mistakes by poor handwriting will eliminate. The lecturer, on the other hand, opposes this notion asserting that doctors still take notes with a pen in papers when examining patients, and later, staff types them in the computers. Therefore, if staff interpret what doctors have written incorrectly, the errors will happen in electronic records again.

Finally, the author avers that by storing medical patients' records on computers, researchers can access them readily. Once again, the orator questions the idea presented in the essay, noting that even with the electronic data, access to databases is difficult due to privacy laws. Accordingly, doctors should follow strict procedures and obtain permission, but permission is not granted. Patients can block their records, and do not permit others to use them other than their medical treatments.