We had a great meeting today with a group of doctors and nurses who are using our scheduling system. This was the first time we had met with them since they started using it, and you won’t believe me when I tell you all of the nice things they had to say. But I am going to tell you two things because they relate to good software overall.
One of the doctors turned to me towards the end of the meeting and said something to the effect of - When they told me they were going to use scheduling software, I did not expect that it would be able to do all of the things that it does. No offense. - Gosh! None taken. Sadly what that tells me is that the bar is still too low in medical software. The systems available do the bare minimum and are difficult to use. I am pleased that we are overdelivering but I want to raise the standard for everyone.
Throughout the meeting, different team members suggested other ways they could use the system. They saw the potential and came up with new uses that we hadn’t even thought of. We were fired up by their energy and enthusiasm. What a great response! And on reflection, after the initial warm glow of the meeting, I realized - this doesn’t happen very often. People only come up with more ways and reasons to use something if they enjoy using it. It is such a huge compliment, and this should be the standard we are all working toward.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished up to now - of the time saved and joy created for the groups that we have worked with so far, and I’m hopeful and excited that we can pull others along with us. It will be even better if more people are making great software for medcine.