The first week, I had to have the thing constantly worked on because it would not print. We rotate around to three different hospitals. I mostly work at the suburban one, but occasionally I work at the trauma center. Each time I would change locations, the printer for that location would not load or something. I’m trying to discharge impatient patients, and I cannot print their prescriptions and discharge instructions. And I have a rack full of new impatient patients.

I’m also aggravated that if I write a lab order and then change my mind, I can’t d/c it. I have to call the lab and tell them directly. Apparently, when I d/c a lab test, it doesn’t alert the lab, so they run it anyway. I thought the computer was supposed to help with this! I don’t have time to call the lab every time I want to subtract something. They need to fix this, or I’m going to go batty.

Finally, out of frustration, I started throwing my pen at it, mostly because a brick wasn’t all that handy. I heard one of the surgeons got so mad at it that he ripped one of the screens off the wall of the OR and smashed it. I’m not sure if that’s true or just part of Go Live Lore.

Now, I’m pretty technologically savvy. I grew up with a computer programmer for Pete’s sake. My father, now retired, was a computer programmer for Tulane University in the 1980s, and then he was the budget systems manager. One day he dropped his briefcase, and all these little cards with little holes came pouring out.

I also had to take computer science in high school – programming BASIC on old Apple IIcs. Those things are probably in museums now, along with floppy disks, 8-track players, and the original iPod.

I suppose the biggest frustration with this whole system is that whoever designed it has never worked in an ED, maybe never even been a patient in one.

They should have – at least – had to role play a little. “Excuse me, Mr. Jones, I know your wife’s heart has stopped, but I can’t stay at the bedside with her because I have to electronically enter the epinephrine order to keep her heart from stopping again.”

It seems as though we are spending more time with a computer than with a patient. I’m handcuffed to the computer so I can order all the appropriate tests and medications. I should really be standing next to the patient, constantly reassessing him or her and thinking about the case. History and physical give you 80% of the information you need to diagnose and treat patients. By not standing there and doing this, you will miss something.