IDDUINEM
Almost 15 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Peter Geerlofs, who had founded a company that was one of the first Allscripts acquired during my tenure - more than the technology, we loved the team, which included Dr. Ron Dionne, Peter's wife, Glenda, and Steve Schwartz (now leading strategy and business development for 23andMe). Peter, who was a family practitioner in Port Townsend, Washington, had also served in public health for many years and saw the need, day in and day out, for patients to have meaningful interactions with their providers. His company, Medifor, developed a system whose goal was to help the physician help the patient, rather than just "treat the chart." They sought to better educate patients by helping the physician manage care, follow treatment guidelines, and reduce charting chores. This was well before electronic health records became as ubiquitous as they are today.
I recalled Peter's admirable goals when reading Dr. Robert Wachter's article in today's New York Times Opinion section entitled "Why Health Care Tech is Still So Bad."
Dr. Wachter, the author of the book, The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age, concludes that quality can be improved, healthcare cost decreased and safer medicine practiced through the application of health tech. To do so requires that there be an understanding of how the user interacts with the technology (or system) and a culture that supports its application. This means meeting the user on his or her terms.
Peter called this IDDUINEM - or "If Docs Don't Use It, Nothing Else Matters". Peter, as our first Chief Medical Officer, taught us that we were not in the software business, but in the change management business. We needed to create the environment in which it was possible to transition to a desired future (and hopefully better) state. Our goal was to demonstrate that the principle of Arthur C. Clarke that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." How else can you automagically stop a medication that is the subject of a recall from being prescribed? Or identify all patients who were on active prescriptions for that medication without reviewing thousands of paper charts?
The requisite formula in my mind has been not only to create a system that doctors needed to have (whether due to organizational or governmental requirement or inducement) but also loved to use. That is the conclusion Dr. Wachter reaches today as well - that healthcare information technology needs to be essential to the practice of medicine. To get there, tech companies need to partner with the user, understand their needs and be a seamless part of their workflow in a manner that makes the job of caring for patients better than the alternative. Nothing else matters.
#HIT #IDDUINEM #digitaldocs
Angel investor & advisor; always interested to meet health tech start ups
9 年You're speaking my language! Thank you for posting.
IT professional with a versatile technical skillset and in-depth knowledge of healthcare, finance, and HR operations from both the vendor and provider perspectives.
9 年I still remember "IDDUINEM - or "If Docs Don't Use It, Nothing Else Matters" from my Allscript days :)
Director Of Business Development at Mend VIP
9 年If Docs Don't Use It Nothing Else Matters! I still have the T-shirt, the bumper sticker & the coffee mug! Please say hello to Peter for me!
35 year healthcare technology and services leader. Three time CEO, CEO and Executive Team Coach, and seasoned Independent Board Member.
9 年I remember Peter's passion like it was yesterday. Yet still hospitals spend $2,000,000 per bed on software that is everything but useful or meaningful