This is a story about two doctors in the same city. It's about two family doctors that my family visits. And how little faith some people have in computer programs. One is my wife's gynaecologist who helped us to achieve parenthood when we thought all was lost. The other is the family skin specialist who too, has helped with skin rashes when we were also about to give up.

The thing is, they both use IT. But the difference is stark. The gynae has a networked system. In his consultation room, he keys in his prescription and fees on his PC. When we go outside, the cashier has the information on her PC, so she simply collects the fees and prints out the receipt. No data re-entry. Pretty high-tech for a doctor.

The dermatologist is a stark contrast. I went there to get some cream for my kid today. The nurse/cashier had to pull out my kid's records, get the doctor to sign on it, and then manually key the order into the computer system. Here's the strange thing. After entering the data into the computer, the program churned out a calculation on the total amount payable after GST taxes. This cashier, to my bewilderment, then pulled out her "trusty" calculator and re-calculated the entire charge sheet, and then proceeded to fill up the same information on the screen onto a paper form.

So I asked her. "Didn't the computer just calculate the amounts for you?"

"Yes," she replied. "But the computer could be wrong, she added.

That's real smart, miss, but did you know your calculator is also a computer?