Our Workarounds Aren’t Working

In yet another headline I wish I’d written, Theresa Brown — nurse, author, clinical faculty member, Ph.D. — wrote a provocative op-ed for The New York Times: The American Medical System Is One Giant Workaround. That’s a great description, and one that anyone who has ever touched the healthcare system can easily appreciate.

Never mind the insightful but somewhat inside-baseball examples Dr. Brown mentions; who among us in our healthcare journeys has not seen the sticky notes, been asked to send a fax, gotten stuck in a telephone tree, or had to refill (paper) forms? Those and countless other examples should make us all realize the creaky platform upon which our actual care depends.

To call it a...