Building Tools That Doctors Actually Use
Why most medical software fails at the bedside, and what I'm trying to do differently.
Most medical software feels like it was designed by someone who's never held a pager at 3 AM.
I've spent the last decade as a hospitalist, and I've watched countless "innovative" tools fail at the bedside. Not because they weren't technically impressive, but because they didn't respect the fundamental constraints of clinical work:
- Time is scarce. If your tool takes more than 30 seconds to be useful, it won't get used.
- Cognitive load is real. Doctors are already juggling 15 patients. Don't make them learn a new interface.
- Context switches are costly. The best tools meet you where you are, not where the designer wishes you were.
What I'm Building
This site is my experiment in building differently. Every tool here is something I've wanted to exist during my own clinical practice.
The hyponatremia calculator? I built it after the dozenth time I forgot the correction formula during a busy call night.
The sepsis bundle tracker? Because I got tired of scribbling timestamps on my rounding list.
The Philosophy
Good medical software should feel invisible. It should reduce cognitive load, not add to it. It should make you a better doctor, not a better data entry clerk.
I'm not sure I've figured it out yet. But I'm trying.
If you're building in healthcare—or just thinking about it—I'd love to hear from you. The best tools come from people who understand the pain.