I am all for making our healthcare system better. I think this piece in the NY Times did a nice job showing how "disruptive innovation" may make sense to shake up a profession that has been outdated for so long. I am also a sucker for any article that has "disruptive" and "healthcare" in the same headline. I do have a couple of bones to pick, though. Here is one:
"The country needs to innovate its way toward a new health care business model — one that reduces costs yet improves both quality and accessibility".
Isn't that a little unrealistic? Like that old adage goes - good, fast and cheap; pick two.
"There’s a mythology that I.T. decreases the personal relationship between the physician and the patient,” Dr. John Cochran said. “In point of fact, it enhances it.”
Is that true? I have been in the an EMR system for two years and though I do love the information that is at my fingertips, I am having trouble looking at the patients in the eyes. Is anyone else having that problem? In the beginning it was painful but now I find myself staring at the damn screen and typing more than having that personal relationship. I know this sounds corny. In fact, the days that the computer goes down are the days I treasure the most. I get to go "old school" and just talk to the patient and scribble notes. I know I could still do that today with the EMR and have tried but just get sucked back into typing because I have to keep moving and want to get my work done.
I would love to hear what others think about this. How does IT make the physician-patient relationship better or worse? Does anyone else want to tell Dr. Johnny Cochran that "the EMR doesn't fit and you're full of sh%t".
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