Technology - hmmmmm?

Ever notice how technology that is supposed to help us, really becomes a pain in the you know what? For instance, I never wanted a cell phone, I resisted as long as I could without my kids and husband disowning me.  I remember Nick telling me once that I needed a cell phone, not because I was important, but that he was, and that meant I had to be available if he needed me. I think he just wanted to be able to use it - which he did! Anyway, now I have an iPhone with lots of aps and a camera and my work can page me on the damn thing 24/7.  What has happened to me? Last month I went to MT where AT&T has no cell service and I couldn't use the fancy thing for calling. For some reason texting still works - I never figured that out. My husband discovered that if I connected to Mom's wifi he could call me through his iPad using Facetime, which I think is Apple's version of Skype. Will wonders never cease?  I did get a kick out of the message I got when Mom and I went to Scobey, MT which is about 12 miles south of the Canadian border.  It said "Welcome abroad. If you would like to call the US plesae dial ...."  Apparently the closest cell tower is in Canada. Just so you know, sometimes I do turn the thing off and hide out. But don't ask me to give up my iPad, I'm kind of addicted to it!

The government has forced hospitals to have EHR - electronic medical records - in order to receive  funding that hospitals desparately need. (Another reason is so the government can mine data from the hospital records) The premise is that with EHR a person's medical records can be accessed by care providers anywhere, thereby resulting in continuity of care. Hmmm - good idea until you get into the weeds. If everyone had the same EHR system maybe that would work, but even in our hospital, the different programs don't talk to each other so how can they communicate with the entire world? And then there is the problem of people being able to view records that they shouldn't so we have to have the compliance police. YIKES!  The newest thing is CPOE with means the doctors enter their orders into the computer without going througth the nurse and unit secretary (a second set of eyes that helps to prevent mistakes). A whole new set of problems come with that.  Think of your 70 year old family doctor trying to enter a page of orders into the computer - it won't be easy. My dad hated computers and said they would be the ruination of the world and he may just be right, but we just can't seem to manage without them.

On a lighter note, I have been baking again.  Last week I made cherry scones and bread, and yesterday day I made shortbread cookies for my hubby - his favorite treat.  Maybe baking and gardening are my escapes from the technology, although I oftern use my phone to take the pictures of the food and flowers.  Maybe I should just use it as a camera!