‘Reading Aloud,’ ‘Reading’ and ‘Looking at’ a Medical Record: Visual Resource in the Action Formation of a Doctor-Patient Interaction

Abstract

This paper examines how participants make use of medical records through reading aloud, reading and looking at them in order to produce practical actions during medical consultations. In particular, when records are read aloud or simply read, the information contained in medical records can serve as evidence for the informing of test results, acknowledging a positive outcome, as well as making medical inferences. In comparison, ‘looking at’ records provides an activity within a medically-relevant framework. The paper will also discuss the accountability of patients and doctors while managing healthcare aimed towards the patient’s welfare, which is traceable via the use of medical records.