Doctors Can Go Back To Tech School - InformationWeek

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Comments
Doctors Can Go Back To Tech School
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Gary_EL
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Gary_EL,
 User Rank: Ninja
8/28/2014 | 8:12:21 PM
Re: Medical doctors have too much to do as it is
I don't know about an agency, but it sounds like a great idea for facebook page or a blog. I'll see if any of the people I'm thinking of want to be listed.
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/28/2014 | 6:55:30 PM
Re: Medical doctors have too much to do as it is
@Gary_EL: There is a virtually unlimited supply of unemployed IT engineers who'd be delighted to do it for them.

Sounds to me like it's time to start an agency connecting these unemployed IT engineers with the docs who really need them.

 
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/28/2014 | 6:52:50 PM
Re: Two programs, not one...
@cschooler: This pretty well sums things up: the lowest level user, i.e. the clinician, is required to input most if not all of the data essentially by hand and in a double whammy gets the least return from the system.

Your comparison to a CRM system is quite fitting as well.

In these cases, who would you say ends up getting the most return from the system?
cschooler
IW Pick
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cschooler,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/27/2014 | 1:06:28 PM
Re: Two programs, not one...
I don't see current UIs (Windows, Icons, Mouse and Point (WIMP) as the result of a poor job. Rather they are limited by the WIMP technology. This limitation causes low user satisfaction because the lowest level user, i.e. the clinician, is required to input most if not all of the data essentially by hand and in a double whammy gets the least return from the system.  This phenomena has parallels in the professional sales industry.  With today's CRM systems sales reps have to input most of the data, but get the least value from the system in return.  And, in some cases, are managed by and to the data with "sticks" and not "carrots." 

As for the next wave of GUI technology (as embodied by just one example referred to as "mobile", i.e. a laptop with a physical touch interface, gesture navigation and selection, sensors such as GPS; microphones; cameras and accelerometers, and light weight), it is, in technology adoption life cycle terms, "emerging." I see this emergence not as a obstacle, but as huge opportunity.  The various technologies are just reaching commercial viability, some more than other (voice compared to iPad). This means that they are in their first, of many, implementation iterations. My prediction is, just as barcodes and RFIDs revolutionized the supply chain, new UI technology including, but by no means limited to, touch, gesture, sensors and voice, will do the same for healthcare.   
Gary_EL
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Gary_EL,
 User Rank: Ninja
8/26/2014 | 10:26:56 PM
Re: Medical doctors have too much to do as it is
@Susan
But doctors are in a class by themselves, because there are only so many medical degrees granted in the US every year. That means there are only so many doctors, and, combined, they can only do so much in any given time period. Any time they spend on IT is time they can't spend doing medicine. On the other hand, there is a virtually unlimited supply of unemployed IT engineers who'd be delighted to do it for them.

That doesn't mean some docs might want to amass very considerable IT expertise in their spare time. Or, they might want to go fishing, write novels, or become black belts in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu.
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/26/2014 | 8:18:14 PM
Re: Two programs, not one...
@cschooler: Thank you for your thoughtful and considered response. You've highlighted a core and very important issue that I hadn't considered: two very different bases of potential students. I hope in the long run the cirriculum will serve both of those groups meet their own unique learning goals.

In particular I see the GUI and mobility issues as being the greatest obstacle to the advancement of these applications.

Why is it, do you think, that developers of these apps have done such a generally poor job on the usability and mobile access?
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/26/2014 | 7:43:28 PM
Re: Telepresence role
@jastroff: part of the challenge that I see for doctors, at least here in the states, is that they are paid so little per patient in many cases that it's difficult to imagine them investing time in learning to use new technologies, even when they might make their operations more efficient in the long term. Contrary to popular belief, what I have read recently is that he way the medical insurance industry is structured these days many doctors, especially general practitioners, have to pack their schedues just to keep in business.
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/26/2014 | 7:40:24 PM
Re: Medical doctors have too much to do as it is
@Gary_EL: What you're saying is really similar to the role technology plays in any business: Business professionals need to know how to use technology to get their jobs done. IT professionals need to be the experts in the deployment, training and upgrading of the technology. Likewise for healthcare profeessionals: I want my doctors to be focused first and foremost on providing me with high quality healthcare. It's a bonus if they are also tech-savvy. One of my doctors -- who is an expert not based in my state -- will do consultations with me via Skype.
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/26/2014 | 7:36:21 PM
Re: Telepresence role
@Li Tan: healthcare in particular seems to attract people who are very passionate about what they do. All of the IT professionals I've spoken to in the healthcare sector all say some version of the same thing: At the end of the day my technology choices play a role in saving lives.

That is truly something to be proud of, and to never lose sight of, if you're a healthcare IT pro.
Susan_Nunziata
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Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/26/2014 | 7:33:49 PM
Re: Telepresence role
@Thomas: Agreed. Are there any online ourses you've taken that you feel you've gained value or knowledge from? What did you like most (and least) about that form of learning experience?
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