Years ago, when we were hyping the promise of healthcare IT, it may have seemed like everything would be coming up roses just as soon as we could get computer systems in place. That perspective, in line with the rose-colored-glasses predisposition of most humans, did not offer a complete picture of digital technology adoption in healthcare settings.

The truth is that, for the many benefits EHRs and similar tools offer, they also are not fully developed and put new cognitive demands on clinicians that can be a source of frustration. There is still considerable collaborative work to be done between providers and healthcare IT vendors with the expectation that both industries will keep moving forward to realize in practice previously idealized goals.