Richard Hodach, MD and Henry Alba, MD served as instructors for the second in a series of computer training classes for physicians. Pen and paper were abandoned for this course. Students learned how to e-mail their course evaluations to the instructors. Hodach and Alba. On six Saturdays in 1996, forty eight MSMC member physicians as well as some spouses and staff members travel to the UWM computer lab on the city's East side to learn the fundamentals of the central processing unit, understand software and Internet service providers, learn about e-mail and how to download files, use a gopher, navigate the World Wide Web and how to use medical applications.
Physicians are quick studies.
The first session in February was packed. So was the March session, and there is no doubt that the four other sessions planned for the year will be booked solid, too. Following the first training class, physicians said they wanted to learn more. All physicians need to have computer skills to keep up with the breathtaking changes happening in the practice of medicine. The Medical Society's partner in this effort is the Wisconsin Health Information Network.