OMG! HIT, MPS, EDM and BPO
I come from a long history of leveraging technology to reduce waste, improve ability to service customers and I might even argue to improve quality of life. Sadly, in many instances, technology has become a disabling technology — specifically when married to bureaucracy.
Unfortunately, my daughter was recently admitted for an overnight stay in the hospital after a brush with what appeared to be the flu, which took a turn for the worse. Thankfully, she is at home and well on the road to being fully recovered!
I immediately would say that the level of care provided was excellent. I would specifically reference the level of service and obvious care and empathy each and every one of the staff demonstrated. However, it was simply staggering the amount of time and miscommunications occurring between layers of doctors, nurses, administrators and departments.
While I’ll readily admit that the techie, results-oriented executive and overprotective dad in me screams impatience, the unnecessary delays seemed to be wholly avoidable. For instance:
- Even though my daughter and wife had formerly been a patient, we had to fill out entirely new records as opposed to updating existing records. (Twice for two different departments!)
- Confusion between the various doctors and nurses over which medications which prescriptions actually written should be filled and given. I had to call 3 different numbers and leave 2 different voicemails to find out if there were antibiotics or no antibiotics?
- After hearing clearly that the prescriptions would be “called in” to the pharmacy, I still had to drive all the way back to the hospital, then back to the pharmacy to drop off the prescription and finally drive all the way back to pick it up!
Did this threaten her life? Probably not, but it felt as if my wife and I were constantly having to guard our daughter against the medical system playing a game of “gossip”, where the message relayed by the first person is invariably distorted by the time it gets to you.
Needless to say, my perspective is thankful that my daughter is well and at home. I do not want to understate my gratitude for the care provided. But it just amazes me that with time always against us and technology so readily available (cheaper than ever before), we have to fight so hard to ensure simple things a 1-to-1 conversation often resolves.
Ken Stewart offers observations from the field of managed print services in his weekly column on MPS Insights every Wednesday. As a senior consultant with the Photizo Group, he comes from and works directly with channel providers in the managed services space, developing educational tools and resources to promote lasting business transformation.
Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Get the latest industry news, and follow ChangeForge on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
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