We continue our journey in the medical industry: Michele Grassi tells us what it means to be a developer doctor, literally “sick” software
We continue our journey in the medical field, once again with the help of Michele Grassi, neurologist but also skilled developer, distinguished himself in Italy for the production of medical office software DoctorOffice, made by his Health-software company “dedicated to the pursuit of ease of use.”
in Michele’s life there are two souls: the developer and that of a neurologist physician. We wanted to analyze in depth what it means to be a doctor and a developer at the same time, disclosing the history and commitment that leads from Michael when he discovered his passion for development. below our interview.
Michael, you are a neurologist, but also a developer, when you started developing?
l My first program I realized about Sharp PC1211 (where “PC” was not going to “personal computer”, but for “pocket computer”!). The Sharp PC 1211 could be programmed in BASIC and had, in 1424 steps of memory. This was my beginning.
Several years later, in 1986, I bought my first Macintosh Plus, and my father asked me: “… but what makes us a doctor with a computer?”. This sentence, I will always remember, had no immediate response. I was not sure what I was doing, only that I liked doing it.
Times when medicine development and certainly were not going hand in hand …
It ‘ true, then an applied use of medicine to these “personal computer” did not exist. With the commissioning of my first Macintosh, I discover FileMaker Plus was then distributed by Nashoba Systems. So I started to create the first programs.
How were intertwined your medical studies with the development experience?
After graduating in medicine, specialization in neurology and neuro-psychiatric work environment has taught me a philosophy of use of health software in my opinion better. I began to study carefully not only the data required to be included, but where to place them. The study of colors and forms has allowed me to receive more and more positive feedback about the daily use.
With the improvement of the current versions of FileMaker Pro and the iPad’s birth was more clear. I suddenly had a clear road that I had to go, waiting for the market to ripen and that the doctor understood the need to have these new tools for his work and for the future work ahead.
And so were born all your programs like DoctorOffice … What made you want to continue the ‘parallel activity developer?
the development of a software is the daily work of all developers. The make in most cases for others, a few times for themselves. My first developments were for me and only me. After, I started to do it for others. Feeling of doing the right thing and feeling gratified by colleagues, I began to add, and add and edit to add more.
The idea of creating software that the doctor could customize or shape of your choice, born from continued demand for changes to pre-packaged software specialist. But the time required to realize all the changes required, actually increased the cost of the final software so as not to make it more marketable.
Make available, however, software that could allow individual doctors to realize “their” Ambulatory Card was the ideal solution, although required a tremendous job of planning and greater computer literacy by the end user.
was it hard at first to understand the scope evolution of information in your field …
When i started to develop the first software of computer literacy in physicians was very low. I was a fan, but in most cases, the colleagues of my generation – also on future generations – were far away to be considered essential to the use of IT support.
And today instead?
Today they have become aware. Which of them has made him an edge. The still subsequent generations up to the current ones, are more prepared, at least in this point of view. Behold, here comes the ever growing success of ambulatory software versions. Those who purchase them are young doctors, able to mature IT approach and that, indeed, they claim, increasingly powerful functions. It thus becomes essential to allow them to export data to interface with statistical software, or simply to be able to export data to send to your accountant.
So by information doctors have earned us?
the computer culture has conditioned more and more positively today’s doctor, already during his university studies, use the computer to record lectures, writing jobs, manage images and do research on the scientific publications. Lucky them: those who, like me, had the good fortune to do research and the misfortune to make it at an age where, for example, bibliographic research was done on the “Current Contents” paper, know what I mean. Among other things, the research at that time was mandatory carry it out within the university facilities. Today, you can do it in every place, waiting for the subway, standing, sitting, at home.
C ome live the Michele “developer” and Michele “neurologist” in the same coat?
the profession envelops you and diseases as well.
Perhaps it is for this reason that I associate jokingly disorders and features of the software that I always go more to deepen, as if the software care and its interface would help me to cure the pathological disorder.
Now, however, we want some examples …
the paranoid disorder ( “the term” paranoia “means a mental disorder, characterized by delusions of the patient of being persecuted … hence the need for control “), for example, is highlighted in the practice of development by the constant presence of the control buttons, the majority of the actions, always at hand and made the fullest possible ergonomics. So the use of simple and intuitive icons, as well as the constant control of the mouse position. With the new version of DoctorOffice and the ability to highlight the passage on the buttons and fields we have almost reached the optimum.
Then there is depressive disorder ( “characterized by episodes of depressed mood accompanied mainly by low self-esteem and loss of interest … “), evident in the choice of colors, more pastel colors, never too sharp, but enough net to differentiate. The color-sections of the software association is essential for ease of use. And ‘the color that needs to communicate where we are, and a color which emphasizes the function there.
Not to mention the anxiety disorder: ( “characterized by a feeling of worry or fear, more or less intense and lasting … “): is known in ensuring the presence of essential buttons (personal details, press buttons and types of printing, etc.), always and everywhere, but not buttons that can control potentially harmful actions (eg deleting a record or even the close button is always in the list screen, but not in the rest of the layout of the software).
Finally, the obsessive: ( “mainly characterized by manifestations characterized by conscientiousness, self and hetero-pedantic control, stiffness, conscientiousness, regularity, punctuality and excessive morality), with symptoms consisting of obsessive thoughts compulsions associated with … “). This is the striking feature in the software anywhere. The pursuit of perfection of the lines, the alignment of the fields, the font and the desperate search of uniformity and the “beauty of the whole”, the sequence of data input, the menu logic, the position of the buttons, the titles, from cleaning the screen. This is not a quest for perfection, but a need for order and logic.
Beyond this interesting development neurology-parallelism, how would you rate your work as a developer?
the medicine in general is changing, the medico-legal issues also have to be kept under control, care medical protocols have been refined and are to be respected by every doctor and for each specialty. So this is not just a study that aims to redesign, but the same motivation existence of similar instruments. They are pleased with the results they have achieved so many customers who bought my software, but I’m also aware that professional development also means updating the software. Not only an increase in processing speed and memory capacity to store more pictures or movies.
Which goal should ask someone who wants to develop medical software?
the opportunity that a health care software should give the doctor in the near future should be to be able to help make a diagnosis and decide on treatment comforted by the scientific literature produced in real time around the world. Unfortunately, the Italian infrastructure is underdeveloped compared to other cities, but conscious of this, we (always unfortunately) more time to adapt and to be ready for our future often already present in other countries.
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