Studies of how IT is used in medicine have consistently shown that the people most resistant to information technology are the ones who are most central to making it effective: doctors.
Some doctors fulfill the stereotype of the distracted clinician who is forbidden to use the office equipment by administrative staffers who are tired of having to fix the copier all the time.
Others are comfortable with technology, but don't use it the way the rest of the hospital would prefer.
For example, Doctors Using Handhelds, but Not for Medicine highlights how doctors are increasingly using mobile devices for everything but accessing and updating medical records.
So non-physicians are pushing mobile medicine ahead, but sometimes for reasons that are more practical and tactical than cool and strategic:
Duke Health Uses IT to Get Beyond Doctors' Handwriting.
But not to worry. The struggle to get doctors wired is fading in the wash of news about medical applications that actually make patient care and hospital operations more secure and efficient.
Check out these stories to read more:
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Siemens Medical Underwent a Major IT Transplant, but It's Still Unclear if the Operation Was a Success
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