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The Problem with “Health Information Technology” in a Two Paragraph Quote

May 7th, 2009 by Andrew Yates

From Hacker God Leslie Lamport’s interview with Mihai Budiu: 

People fiercely resist any effort to make them change what they do. Given how bad they are at writing programs, one might naively expect programmers to be eager to try new approaches. But human psychology doesn’t work that way, and instead programmers will find any excuse to dismiss an approach that would require them to learn something new. On the other hand, they are quick to embrace the latest fad (extreme programming, templates, etc.) that requires only superficial changes and allows them to continue doing things basically the same as before. In this context, it is only fair to mention that people working in the area of verification are no less human than programmers, and they also are very reluctant to change what they do just because it isn’t working.

The fundamental idea behind verification is that one should think about what a program is supposed to do before writing it. Thinking is a difficult process that requires a lot of effort. Write a book based on a selection of distorted anecdotes showing that instincts are superior to rational judgment and you get a best seller. Imagine how popular a book would be that urged people to engage in difficult study to develop their ability to think so they could rid themselves of the irrational and often destructive beliefs they now cherish. So, trying to get people to think is dangerous. Over the centuries, many have been killed in the attempt. Fortunately, when applied to programming rather than more sensitive subjects, preaching rational thought leads to polite indifference rather than violence. However, the small number of programmers who are willing to consider such a radical alternative to their current practice will find that thinking offers great benefits. Spending a few hours thinking before writing code can save days of debugging and rewriting.

In other words, safely ignore HIPAA, CCHIT, and all these other bullshit “credetentials.” Noting that virtually all medical software already verifies with these standards, if these standards worked, then there wouldn’t be a problem with medical software, and the government wouldn’t feel compelled to bribe you $50k to buy it. Further note that I mean that these standards are neither necessary nor sufficient to produce useful tools. I do not mean that the obsensible objects of these standards like interoperability and privacy should be ignored. I only state this explicitly because anyone who advertising oneself as an “authoritative opinion” in “health information technology” is de facto an idiot until demonstrably otherwise. Finally note that I have yet to demonstate otherwise myself, so I hope that this rambling third paragraph only minimally detracts from the excellence of Lamport’s quote published above.

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