The patient's point of view--IT matters.

NEARLY two decades ago, British neurologist and author (Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat), Dr. Oliver Sacks, resolved health care’s current dilemma when he said: “There is only one cardinal rule in medicine: One must always listen to the patient.” If only it were that simple. And yet, for nursing—typically considered the “caring” constituency—it is that simple. Problem is, nursing, as with every other health care constituency, has to serve several masters. The cruelest master of them all? The bottom line. Unfortunately, nursing must all too often subjugate the ideal of listening to the patient to the reality of doing what is cost-effective. Fortunately, there is a means to that ideal end—information technology (IT).