Today, I can't imagine working without all my high-tech toys. I have a busy inner-city practice; together with my nurse practitioner and physician assistant, I see 60 to 70 patients a day, and they're some of the sickest in the area. We couldn't treat this many patients and do a good job if we weren't heavily computerized.

Here are 10 pieces of information technology that streamline my work.

My EHR/practice management system, called Medent, is linked to Epocrates, a drug reference program. If a patient is taking a medication but has forgotten its name, I go to Epocrates and show him photographs of pills until we come to his. "Oh, that's it," he'll say. Boom—problem solved.

Connected medical devices. Vital signs, ECGs, and spirometry results automatically download into my EHR. That's more accurate than if someone keys in the numbers manually. Once downloaded, there's no need to re-record results in various sections of the chart. And I can easily compare ECG readings from different dates on the same screen to spot changes. It's harder to do with paper.

Practice website. New patients can download forms for registration, medical history, HIPAA, and the like and complete them before their first visit, which makes it go more smoothly. The site also includes links to a ton of health education material in English and Spanish. (For more on practice websites, see the articles in The Connected Physician section.)

Windows XP Media Center.This special operating system for so-called Media Center PCs isn't just for home entertainment. I use it on my office network so patients in an exam room can watch educational slideshows and videos from Medline Plus on a desktop computer. Or they can simply watch television—it helps calm them down.

Windows Media Player. With this Microsoft program (bundled with various versions of the Windows operating system), I record audio messages about our payment policies, our services, and other medical specialists in the building. I broadcast the messages throughout the office periodically as well as play them on the phone system when patients are on hold. I also use Windows Media Player to broadcast radio music. The staff likes it, and when they're happier, patients tend to be happier.

High-tech security. There are 24 surveillance cameras in and around my building, and I can view the images—live or archived—on any network computer. The system came in handy when a lawsuit-minded patient claimed that he slipped and fell in the driveway. I showed him the video from that day—he had strolled from his car to the office with no problem—and he backed off.