| |||||||||||||
A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary softwareA couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary softwarePosted Aug 10, 2006 7:48 UTC (Thu) by bluefoxicy (guest, #25366)Parent article: A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary software
The garage thing is lol, the medical thing is not funny. I would have called a lawyer and discussed the risks and liabilities we can put the company at for not facilitating the continued access and smooth transition from their system to a new one.
If someone would have died or suffered significant discomfort due to not having access to medical records, what then? Tammy is allergic to Valium; oops, sorry, our vendor is being an asshole and won't let us read your records, your brain has inflated three times and you are now a retard? No, screw that, I don't play that way and they would have less than five minutes to give me an acceptable response from the moment the whole debacle began before I would have several lawyers contacting their legal department.
There is "proprietary software may cause some headaches," and then there is "some people are too stupid to be allowed to tell you what you can do with their products." When it comes to peoples' lives, the person in charge of whether people live or die REQUIRES complete control of ALL tools at his disposal, regardless of whether he can pay for them or not. Dr. Notes has earned a stab in the face.
(Log in to post comments)
A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary software Posted Aug 10, 2006 12:14 UTC (Thu) by fjf33 (subscriber, #5768) [Link] It would all depend on context. The Dr. Notes people may have agreed as long as you paid the 4x maintenance. After all they can't be asked to do stuff for free just because you don't want to use their software anymore. It would depend on the contract you signed. If you signed a contract that specifically allowed them to do what they did, well then you were derelict on your duties and put your patients at risk. It would be sensible for the doctors to also keep a paper copy of the records somewhere. What if the software just came down for some reason or another?
All of this just doesn't change the fact that they would've been much better off with OSS but I don't think a lawsuit would've been a walk in the park either.
A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary software Posted Aug 10, 2006 12:38 UTC (Thu) by lysse (guest, #3190) [Link] In a country where someone won a lawsuit because her coffee was unreasonably hot, despite her doing a silly thing with it? It might not be a walk in the park, but I'd say the odds are at least high enough that it's worth a go. Even if the doctors can't sue, there might well be grounds for the patients being able to. (IANAL.)
A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary software Posted Aug 10, 2006 18:31 UTC (Thu) by fjf33 (subscriber, #5768) [Link] IANAL either but I agree the patients would have a much better chance, particularly if it is a state where they can get the full money from whoever has it, independent of their contribution to the problem. So if the doctor has insurance, he will probably pay most of the penalty anyway. It would be an interesting test of the EULA though. The software company may just be in the hole for the cost of the license.
Hot Coffee, Cold Case Posted Aug 10, 2006 22:15 UTC (Thu) by GreyWizard (guest, #1026) [Link] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_coffee_case
A couple of lessons on the hazards of proprietary software Posted Aug 17, 2006 22:34 UTC (Thu) by gvy (guest, #11981) [Link] > No, screw that, I don't play that way and they would have less than five> minutes to give me an acceptable response from the moment the whole debacle > began before I would have several lawyers contacting their legal department. Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer
I admire at americans whose most powerful weapon is a lawyer. Did you ever jump over six-foot fence or participate in a street fight? Or experiment with black powder?
A single blackout, and both you and your lawyer are useless. Think over it, you might still have time to reconsider what's worth training -- bragging over how you'd call someone else to respond instead of you, someone not really wielding any power in slightly changed circumstances.
Think over what's vital to your life, and what would you do without mobile, electricity, or supermarket. Without right hand, or with severely hurting stomach. Being prepared to losing ephemeral warm stuff around you helps sometimes.
Good luck, an american.
|
|||||||||||||