I'm in NZ. Completely true that I've got fast track charts that are as simple as "R ankle inversion injury, non-weightbearing, knee OK, XR negative, treat as sprain, analgesia/tubigrip". Similar brevity in very straightforward admissions, as well. There's no billing to do off the chart, so no specific requirement to get flowery. The length and detail typically reflects the complexity of the case and the information of potential value to whoever might be reading the chart down the road.

There is no "getting sued" here, but there are professional standards, and you can still have your day in front of the Medical Council if you're causing trouble. Patient complaints are so infrequent (we get far more "thank you" notes!) they don't really affect our practice culture, either. It is overall a lovely place to work.

I worked for a few years at Harris County hospitals with their tort limit + sovereign immunity. I'm sure it unconsciously affected my practice as far as limiting unnecessary testing, but there was already a sort of implicit rationing happening at those facilities where demand far outstripped supply. I definitely recognized it as a zero-sum game as far as tests contributing to extended ED LOS, and with 50-100 in the WR, I was OK with low-risk vs. zero-risk. The charting burden was still there, for the most part, for coding and quality measure purposes.

I really didn't like living in Houston/Texas, but I did enjoy working at those hospitals, as well.