Traditional thinking is that technology makes things faster and better, right?  Not always.  For example, just yesterday I was trying to have some workbooks printed at a national chain of office supply stores.  I was in Orlando and heading up to another state for the workshops.  I wanted to have them printed and bound so I could pick them up when I arrived.   Easy task in this age of technology.

Except that to have them printed for pick up on site, I couldn’t have them for 48 hours.  If I wanted them the next day, I had to have them printed at a remote site and shipped.  Only they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) ship them to the store, they would only ship them to the address on my credit card.  So I could either get them at my office in Florida the next day (when I was on a plane) or I could get them the day after my workshop where I actually needed them.

Instead, I just called the store and spoke to a human being.  She said she would be happy to help me, we just had to work around the technology.  She got everything printed and I picked them up right on time.

I see this all the time in healthcare.  We buy some new piece of technology and then change our process around to serve the technology instead of serving our customers.   Before you invest thousands or even millions of dollars in something new, consider how the technology will make things better for your patients and guests.  If it makes it easier for you but tougher on your customers, maybe you should reconsider.