They are too busy with the laptop to have much attention left for patients.
I’m a nurse practitioner, and can confirm this: I spend at least half of my time tapping away at the computer, checking boxes, and completing often-redundant forms for insurance and regulatory compliance and whatnot. It’s really frustrating, and there’s a lot of room for improvement.
Interesting that there were dips leading up to the 2001 recession from the dotcom bust, and the 2008 great recession. I wonder what that’s about.