Despite the fear (of being hacked) and anxiety it causes, computer is still indispensable

Doctor who doesn't use computer can't regain license, judge says

A New Hampshire judge has denied an 84-year-old doctor's request to regain her license to practice, which she had surrendered partly over her inability to use a computer. The state challenged Dr. Anna Konopka's record keeping, prescribing practices and medical decision making. It said her limited computer skills prevent her from using the state's mandatory electronic drug monitoring program, which requires prescribers of opioids to register in an effort to reduce overdoses. Konopka surrendered her license in October, but later requested permission to continue her practice. New Hampshire Public Radio reported Monday that Merrimack Superior Court Judge John Kissinger ruled Nov. 15 that she failed to show she was forced to give up her license as she alleged.

Konopka has asked the judge to reconsider his decision on Wednesday. He hasn't responded yet, so she still cannot see the 20 to 25 patients per week as she once did. "I'm not upset about anything. The legal system is a game. You move. They move. It's full of tricks and different movements," she said. "I am fighting. Therefore as long as I am fighting, I have some hope," she added. Konopka doesn't have a computer in her office and doesn't know how to use one. Two file cabinets in a tiny waiting room inside a 160-year-old clapboard house hold most of her patient records. The only sign of technology in the waiting room is a landline telephone on her desk. Read more...

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