Back in October of last year, I wrote an editorial titled “Technology is here to help us … right?” It was inspired by a server move that left us — how do I put this? — technologically … um … unsatisfied.
Since then, I've kept my feelings bottled up inside. Being a musician, I typically take frustrations out on my guitar. But for this gig, it's more important that I write a letter:
Dear technology,
We need to talk.
I'd love to say that all the wrongs have been righted, that you've apologized and that we've reunited in a torrid love affair that is making all the other trade magazines jealous.
But I'd be lying.
It's time we cleared the air.
It's time for you to stop pretending, technology. Stop pretending you're there for us when sometimes you're not even available to host the Web site or share industry news with our friends.
You didn't think I'd notice when your increased bandwidth allowed you to perform more tasks in the background. But it also gave you more excuses to not be available.
Stop acting like it didn't hurt when you started allowing e-mails from those Russian “brides” into my in box when they clearly had nothing but SPAM on their minds. What about us? I thought you were supposed to make our lives easier.
I wish you all the best, technology, but this just isn't working out.
Fact is, we all have a love-hate relationship with technology. And with all of the aggravation it brings on a daily basis, it's easy to forget that technology allows us to regularly perform feats that just a few decades ago would have been called miraculous; indeed, the stuff dreams were made of.
As advancing technology allows interfaces to simplify, the back-end, often-behind-the-scenes processes are growing more and more complex. And if relatively elementary server and e-mail systems can break down (as in the above, mostly tongue-in-cheek missive), the myriad ways complex healthcare IT solutions can malfunction boggles the mind.
All this underscores the need for the ongoing exchange of information between vendor and end-user that Health Management Technology can provide.
To that end, this month we present a special issue focusing on cutting-edge technology; specifically, handheld devices and how they are changing the healthcare IT landscape.
Enjoy the magazine. And, until next time, here's wishing you good healthcare IT.
