Docnotes

My last one? ... Twitter / Jacob Reider: baby delivered finally.

Twitter / Jacob Reider: baby delivered finally. 13 years ago - almost to the day - I was on call for my first night as a family medicine intern.   Called to Labor & delivery to assist with the birth of a baby - I can remember only snippets of the event, but the exhilaration and joy were palpable. About six months ago, my partner and I decided to give up delivering babies.  This was an agonizing decision - yet being on-call every other night/weekend has taken its toll on us and our families - we've not been able to find partners with whom to share OB responsibilities. It's such a great privilege to be invited into such an important even in people's lives - and the fact that we treat it as a special event - is what makes it so fulfilling for us - and so meaningful to our patients.  Yet of course - this is what makes it so challenging as well.   When we are so emotionally involved with out patients' lives, it becomes very hard for us to "let go" of providing these services without feeling like we're letting them down. So now the decision of six months ago is becoming more and more real - and my ambivalence is growing stronger.  Do I really want to be a family physician who doesn't deliver babies? uuu - no I don't.  But I can't be everything, and I can't do everything.  So it's time to let something go - and know that it's ok. Quit while we're ahead.   We've never had a "bad outcome" -- and have never been sued - or even worried that we would be.  It's a track record to be proud of.  Sometime I'll figure out how many babies I delivered.  I suspect that it's about 1,000 .. which is kinda amazing.  Some of these folks are still my patients .. On a lighter note .. I simpsonized myself:

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Is Google on Crack? | PBS

700 MHz goes through concrete walls like butter

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Is Google on Crack? | PBS

Camping

Camping this summer again on Indian Lake.  We brought the kids and dogs back home last night .. but going  back up today.  It rained a lot at first - but weather was great yesterday - and more of the same forecast for tomorrow. It's good to be away from e-mail etc .. for a few days, but I'm not very well prepared for the avalanche that I'll encounter when I return. I had a busy time last week at the MHSUG meeting in Dallas. It was great to meet so many physicians who depend on our software for patient care, and its an exciting time @ the company - as we're in a great position to deliver solutions to real problems.   This basic principle may sound like MarketingSpeak - but it's really an important shift in how a company looks at health care IT.   We are no longer a company that sells products.  If you've read Docnotes for long (8 years?) you know this is how I think about IT in general.  We need to be conservative in our approach to how we implement IT in heathcare - and create real solutions to real problems.  Too often - we see ideas and products developed that may in fact better represent solutions looking for problems!  Such products can't survive long-term, and become an ever-increasing burden to the sales organizations and the customers.  "Web 2.0" has seen many of these come and go.  I still think we'll see "Med 2.0" rather soon -- it's exciting to be a part of it!