The problem is – we don't know whether “this EMR” or “that iPhone app” will result in “a great reward”. We just see that it doesn't work optimally and that adaptation is tough. And some people will latch onto this and conclude that we should just stop with the whole thing. As if it has to be one extreme or the other.

But technology is not an ultimatum.

No one is trying to undermine the human touch. When stuff doesn't work or it's poorly designed, even people who love technology can tell — and it falls off by itself. The reward of being open-minded and persistent is that by working together we will get it right one day. But the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Baby steps are fine. But you've got to take the step.

Thanks, Colin.

Yet, it seems that some doctors are unwilling to learn how to input and retrieve data on a computer. Technology becomes some sort of bogeyman, something that interferes with their work rather than enhancing it.

What happened?

I assume doctors constantly have to learn about new diseases, treatments, medicines, etc. Why is learning how to press a few buttons so unfathomable? Why the closed-minded attitude to anything outside of their self-imposed boundaries?

As an engineer, I feel that we take a much different approach to technology. Most of us are happiest people alive when we find out that technology can be used to enhance the way we do things. Sure it'll take a little bit of time to learn how to use a new system, but we never make a fuss about it. It's a small time investment for a great reward.