Computer Mandate too much for MDs?

I was reading the Detroit News today and one article stuck in my mind. It was about Michigan doctors complaining about computer mandates.  The article states that doctors have many issues to keep up with to help care for their patients and feel that the The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 might be to onerous for them to keep up with. I understand their concerns. Technology is hard to keep up with and changes all the time. Government mandates do get in the way with people trying to do their jobs as best they can and how the are trained.

Wait a minute, I am a teacher. I have had to keep up with ever changing technology since I started teaching. Many of the tools I use in my classroom were not even invented yet. Teachers are mandated to change all the time. In fact in 12 years of teaching Middle School my curriculum has changed 3-times. When teachers complain, they say we are lazy, under-worked and overpaid union members. Does diagnosing the flu or setting a broken arm change this often?

I truly respect Doctors. I come from a family full of them. Does their complaint about technology merit a front page story? NO way. Keep up or hire someone who can. So many other industries have kept up. Why is it in our society expectations are so different? Most professionals work hard and keep up with the ever changing society. The medical field does need to update. It might be hard. Look at what teachers have been going through for the past few years.

The time and costs stated in the article are real. They are the same time and costs education has been paying to keep up. The main difference is the education field has seen serve cuts to public funding. The medical field is primarily funded by its consumers, us. Medical prices have gone up due to these mandates to pay for them.

Detroit News if you are going to write this article, you should have been at the MACUL conference to talk to educators that have made this type transition through hard work.