I work in healthcare and my opinion here doesn't necessarily reflect my employer's. That disclaimer aside, I feel for you. I sincerely hope your situation has improved. I will offer one counterpoint, though. If your friend's practice couldn't get it together well enough to store prescriptions in Word, Excel, Access, or even Notepad, should we have any hope that they will be able to participate meaningfully in a fully transactionalized data transfer system without error or confusion?

I don't advocate doing nothing, mind you. I'm very much behind the idea of seeing physicians moving into the 21st century. I just worry that our current method for doing that may be flawed and create more problems than it solved. I could be wrong, though. It's been known to happen. :)

In any case, sorry to hear you had a bad time of things and I hope we all see general improvements soon.

...the rest of the world will hate us for controlling "their" Internet.

(sorry, just read a Digg thread and I'm bitter about dumb people right now)

Tom Caudron

A 30-40 mile commute isn't unheard of (in fact its very typical) where I live, and it tends to be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, so that is 60-80 miles both ways, every day.

Then I'd say this car isn't really for your locale. The vast majority of people don't share the dilemma you describe.

I mean, think about it. If she weren't letting those horses listen for free, they might have had to go out and purchase the CDs themselves, which is the very core of her sins against the music artists! I mean, if we allowed this, what next? Would she try to hang a painting up in there for just anybody to enjoy who could see it?!? I think you see the sort of anarchy, mayhem, and potty-mouthed language that would ensue in a world where music was just allowed to carry out over free and unencrypted manure-laden air.

Tom Caudron

Customers define the market, not the business.

I have one word for you: DeBeers.

But I do agree with your conclusion. A bailout is not the answer. The market (producers and consumers alike) should decide what will work. These grandiose plans always smack of a planned economy (read: thinly veiled socialism) to me. Honda and Toyota have proved that greater profitability is achievable without the need for a government bailout.

Tom Caudron