Reference: Shortliffe, E. H. Doctors, Patients, and Computers: Will Information Technology Dehumanize Health-Care Delivery? 1992.
Abstract: This article questions the common assumption that the increasing use of computers in health care will necessarily lead to dehumanization of the process. It is ultimately the sense of control over the technology, rather than by the technology, that will allow practitioners to feel comfortable in adopting computer-based tools for record keeping and decision support. As the computer becomes increasingly woven into the fabric of our society, if there is any resulting dehumanization it will occur because we allow it to happen, not because there is something inherently dehumanizing in the technology itself.
Notes: Updated October 1993.
Full paper available as ps.