As a non-medical person but a tech-geek (I'm one of those people you call when you want to kill your computer), I can certainly imagine that the HIS systems of many, if not most, medical service organizations need much upgrading and work.

But from the article and some of the posts here, it's pretty depressing to see such a "can-not-do" attitude from those in and observing the medical profession in the USA. The fact that we've got crappy IT installs in hospitals isn't an indicator that technology sucks -- it's an indicator that people who make IT choices in hospitals are not doing a good job of it.

This isn't blaming doctors. This is comparing our medical system to our highway system or our education system or any other major American system: Are people arguing that this really is the best we can do? We should just settle for the fact that things don't work and it's too hard to fix things?

Yikes!

So do I believe the doctors who say that we should invest money in hi-tech treatments for cancer and diseases, when the hospitals can't work out a way for sleepy doctors to communicate with each other?

I've got a lot of respect for good doctors and medical professionals, and lots of contempt for those who say we can't do better than this!