Table of Contents

Preface xi
Chapter 1: On Call 1
Chapter 2: Shovel Ready 9

Part One - The Note
Chapter 3: The iPatient 23
Chapter 4: The Note 29
Chapter 5: Strangers at the Bedside 35
Chapter 6: Radiology Rounds 47
Chapter 7: Go Live 65
Chapter 8: Unanticipated Consequences 71

Part Two - Decisions and Data
Chapter 9: Can Computers Replace the Physician’s Brain? 93
Chapter 10: David and Goliath 105
Chapter 11: Big Data 115

Part Three - The Overdose
Chapter 12: The Error 127
Chapter 13: The System 131
Chapter 14: The Doctor 135
Chapter 15: The Pharmacist 139
Chapter 16: The Alerts 143
Chapter 17: The Robot 155
Chapter 18: The Nurse 159
Chapter 19: The Patient 165

Part Four - The Connected Patient
Chapter 20: OpenNotes 171
Chapter 21: Personal Health Records and Patient Portals 183
Chapter 22: A Community of Patients 195

Part Five - The Players and the Policies
Chapter 23: Meaningful Use 205
Chapter 24: Epic and athena 219
Chapter 25: Silicon Valley Meets Healthcare 235
Chapter 26: The Productivity Paradox 243

Part Six - Toward a Brighter Future
Chapter 27: A Vision for Health Information Technology 257
Chapter 28: The Nontechnological Side of Making Health IT Work 267
Chapter 29: Art and Science 271

Acknowledgments 281
Notes 285
National Coordinators for Health Information Technology 309
People Interviewed 311
Bibliography 319
Illustration Credits 321
Index 323

About the Author

Robert Wachter, MD
Professor of Medicine
Associate Chair, Department of Medicine
UCSF School of Medicine

Dr. Wachter is one of the world’s true leaders in patient safety and health quality, and first author of Internal Bleeding, a trade book about patient safety that spent several weeks on the best seller lists. He is Associate Chair of one of the world’s best Internal Medicine programs. He is one of the founders and chief operators of the great health quality and safety web site, www.webmm.ahrq.gov.