Quantum Thinking: A Case Study

I invented the first commercial computerized patient chart in 1983. Some background: In 1977, I was Music Director of an educational radio station when we computerized. No one told me I had to major in IT then program years before I could do computer analysis for the station. So I just did it.

In 1980, that experience led to an implementation specialist job at a major medical center. A brilliant Sr. VP, Elizabeth Mixon, had the foresight to create that position. As a problem-solver, I had no idea how to tell whether a problem was hardware or software. So I took the Clinical Engineers' training and learned. The schematics of the computer guts made good office art.

I was responsible for implementation, problem-solving, training 1000+ employees on three shifts using the training videos I wrote/directed. I also wrote user documentation. Fortunately a gifted colleague assisted. The most challenging was working with people's fear of change and making inroads against the jargon wall. I took COBOL for credibility with the IT people. to understand the bones of programming and to speak computerese fluently.

After three years, I thought the nurses could use incoming patient information. So I designed and implemented a program that linked patient data to the nurses' station. I was just 20 years too early.