Gilles Frydman points us to this story from The Boston Globe today that illustrates one of the downsides to this push to electronic medical records — people who know how to use them:

The explosion of computerization in patient record-keeping means hospitals are not only competing with each other for talent, but with start-up companies that sell the computer systems off the shelf to physicians.

Next to nursing, this is probably a good career choice for guaranteed work if you’re looking toward the medical field. Having worked at Partners in Boston, though, I’d have to say that hospitals tend to move at snail’s pace in terms of adapting their legacy systems to all of this new technology. And decisions and designs are made in endless, glacier-like committee meetings, which means their outcomes are usually not ideal.

Attracting the right talent is difficult when the environment is, ahem, a little less than challenging.

John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

John M. Grohol, Psy.D. is one of the pioneers in online mental health and support groups, getting his start on the Internet in 1992 with depression support groups and advocacy efforts. He is a writer, researcher, and the publisher & founder of the Internet's leading mental health and psychology network, Psych Central, a founding corporate member of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of Computers in Human Behavior and does e-health consulting in his spare time. Dr. Grohol is a founding member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine, and is also a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.