One is written by a recently retired informatician, Perry Miller, MD, PhD of Yale University. Dr. Miller has transitioned to becoming a novelist, authoring the book, Lethal Injection (Koehler Books, Virginia Beach, VA). In this murder mystery based in a hospital, IT systems play a significant role in the story, and one of the central characters has a master’s degree in informatics from OHSU. I won’t give away the rest of the story, but can say it was an enjoyable book to read.
In the other book, the characters from House of God, a famous novel from when I was in medical school in the 1980s, are reunited at Man's 4th Best Hospital, which is also the name of the book (Penguin Publishing Group). The characters are brought back together in an effort to defeat HEAL, the “Healthy Electronic Assistance Link” electronic health record foisted upon this flailing health system in an effort to improve its bottom line … and maybe also improve patient care. HEAL was developed by “electrical engineering grads, isolated out in Cheese Country, Wisconsin.” Anyone who knows anything about informatics knows the vendor for which those HEAL developers work.
Both books also deal with another problem in medicine, which is the consolidation of healthcare systems and resulting emphasis on the bottom line, sometimes to the detriment of care and well-being of clinicians. But both books are nice reads, and I won't say more to spoil their stories, other than to note it is interesting to see informatics come of age in fiction.
Both books also deal with another problem in medicine, which is the consolidation of healthcare systems and resulting emphasis on the bottom line, sometimes to the detriment of care and well-being of clinicians. But both books are nice reads, and I won't say more to spoil their stories, other than to note it is interesting to see informatics come of age in fiction.
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