Primary care physician and medical blogger Rob Lamberts, MD, analyzes physicians' reluctance to adopt technology in a recent blog post and argues that "a culture of fear in our healthcare system" is to blame. He writes:
As it stands, it sometimes feels like anything we include in our records "can and will be used against us."
If someone like me, a physician who embraces technology, feels increasingly penned in by the increasing number of people peering at what I do, it is very understandable that other physicians reject technology outright. They'll quit before they give up their independence.
Is it stupid? In some ways it is. It certainly is a rejection of the centrality of what's good for the patient. But our system can't afford to alienate physicians at this time. If technology is going to be pushed, there needs to be a reassurance that this won't be used against them. I am frustrated at the lack of acceptance of technology, but even more frustrated at a system that is hostile that forces docs into this foxhole.
Drawing from experiences in his own practice, Lamberts concludes that health care providers' aversion to technology comes at the expense of patients and the public in the form of a costly, inefficient health care system.
Via The Health Care Blog
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