Calling It As I See It
by an ER doctor
I'm an old guy. A survivor. An ER doc from the early 80's. Not burned out. But plenty burned up. And, from the great position of a curmudgeon, I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it anymore. My "not taking it" does not mean I'm leaving my profession. I've loved every day of it. (OK, maybe not every. I've had bad days like everyone else.) But I've had the immense privilege of checking people into and out of this life. And of one thing I'm certain: when the moment of greatest need in life comes along, no one is asking for the administrator on call. So I'm calling it as I see it. If the EBR (some call them EMR; they are not. They are for billing, not medical) doesn't work, don't hire scribes to worship at my feet and try to cover up the EBR's problems; fix the damn system! To do anything else is as unethical as it would be for a surgeon to continue to use an instrument she knew was not working.Absolutely, these issues are not physicians' problems. These are existential issues which the general public, for its own good, must take up.