This is, in theory, great…however, we need more doctors using computers than the 9% of doctors who currently do. Right now, nearly 17% of our GDP runs on handwritten notes. The current pre-internet, boomer-based business models surrounding Health IT need to be disrupted so that medical web apps are more affordable for docs with less up-front costs and “service” fees. Very little of this stuff mentioned in this post will become relevant to even a tiny sliver of doctors because the vast majority are writing chicken scratch and the tiny minority are using Windows 95-looking EMRs that serve as billing machines rather than communication applications to help doctors do their jobs better. These public health alerts are in theory, great, but in practicality, the pop ups will only work if GE and the CDC have invented holograms that pop up out of their paper charts.

Health Care Industry Moves Slowly Onto the Internet – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com