I recently completed a short training course produced by a colleague of mine, Dr. Mark Radlauer, who is both an emergency room physician in Colorado as well as an early-stage tech investor. The topic of the training course was improving IT-Provider communication. Dr. Radlauer is a voice I listen to because he understands the clinician’s point of view and workflow and he is a firm believer in leveraging technology to deliver the best patient care and experience possible.
Dr. Radlauer pointed out, correctly, that one of the leading causes of communication challenges between IT professionals and providers is that contrasting practices exist in terms of how each individual approaches their work.
(The one point where I slightly disagree with Dr. Radlauer is in his assertion that IT is organization-driven rather than data-driven but my experience shows that this is sometimes the case. IT–and most all businesses / departments / teams–should be more data-driven than they currently are.)
I believe that seeing a construct such as this helps both IT professionals and clinicians understand the points of view of the other party and, therefore, improve overall communication between the two groups. When communicating across disciplines, it is always helpful to understand how the receiver of your messages (regardless of how they are sent) works and thinks. This understanding will allow you to tailor your message to be as effective as possible.
