Back in 2006, I wrote a post on EMR and HIPAA comparing EMR and Marriage. I think anyone who’s been through an EMR implementation and is married can see the similarities.
Today marks the 8th year of marriage to my sweet wife. Since today’s our anniversary, I find it fitting to again consider EMR and marriage. My wife exhibits so many great qualities that people would love to find in an EMR and EMR vendor.
My wife is flexible.
My wife cares about me.
My wife worries more about me than her own well being.
My wife goes the extra mile to make my life easy.
My wife is easy on the eyes.
My wife understands my needs and does everything in her power to satisfy those needs.
My wife trusts me and I trust her.
Needless to say, if more EMR implementations were as great as my marriage, we’d have a much higher EMR install rate.
John,
Congratulations on your anniversary!
Sticking to the topic of marriage:
No doubt your wife has excellent qualities. They are all good for YOU.
What is in it for your wife?
Unless your wife can make a similar list about you, the marriage is not going to work.
Back to EMR:
As in any marriage, even if the EHR is perfect, the doctor and all her staff have to make a few compromises to make it work.
Without this attitude, no matter how perfect the software (or spouse) is, the marriage cannot work.
Agreed Abhi; “takes two to tango”. Congratulations John and wish many more years of happily married life.
Congratulations John. Considering the national divorce rate and other marraige-related issues attracting national attention right now, this metaphor might be more apt than ever for EMR adopters.
Abhi,
Let’s hope she has a list as well. Might be interesting to have her make one and see how well it applies to EMR customers;-)
Compromise is important with marriage and EMR. I like the extension of the analogy.
Michelle W,
I’ve written about EMR and divorce before too. I guess my point is that the divorce rate (EMR and marriage) would go down if more EMR were like my wife. Let’s hope that the EMR stimulus doesn’t just usher in a new wave of EMR divorces.
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