Reluctant horses at the digital river 英文参考文献.docVIP

Available online /content/8/5/313 Commentary Reluctant horses at the digital river John J Marini Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Correspondence: John J Marini, John.J.Marini@ Published online: 25 August 2004 Critical Care 2004, 8:313-314 (DOI 10.1186/cc2942) This article is online at /content/8/5/313 ? 2004 BioMed Central Ltd Related to Research by Martinez-Motta et al., see page 395 Abstract Mastery of the changing bank of information needed to practice at the cutting edge will require the exploitation of emerging informatics and communication technologies. Whether their limitless promise will be embraced or forgone will depend as much on human as on technological practice. Keywords communications, handheld computers, informatics, medical practice The pace at which computer-enabled technologies transform our daily lives threatens to reshape our familiar world beyond recognition, even as it opens dramatic possibilities for advancing our personal and professional lives. In medicine, mastery of the changing information bank needed to practice at the cutting edge is achieved by the relative few who have the required time, dedication, resources, and access to technical aids. A compelling argument can be made that emerging informatics and communication technologies must be leveraged to make such a task manageable. The report by Martinez-Motta and colleagues [1] that appears in this issue of Critical Care illustrates that adoption of some useful applications of computer technology may run counter to ingrained behaviors that are conditioned by human nature. A familiar adage seems applicable here: ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.’ Maybe not, but our incentives to sip from the raging digital river include both carrots and sticks. conceived applications with low inherent utility. To be adopted by the target audience, any device or algorithm must fulfill genuine needs and be relatively s