Much of the material we cover in Vision Monday lately—Millennials, e-commerce, electronic health records (EHRs), etc.—has one thing in common, a comfort and reliance on digital information.

Unlike digital natives, many of us did not grow up with computers, the internet and smartphones. Instead of fluently speaking digital, we learned it as a second language.

For those who have not done either, newsflash: even if you’re not a digital native, there’s been a coup, and those who have taken charge speak only digital. We must learn their language or live outside their world. (Where, I don’t know.)

For example, some who resist EHRs do so because typing into a computer while examining a patient is so foreign to them that not only does it take exponentially more time to get through the process, but it also takes their focus away from the patient and puts it on the keyboard and screen. Unless they suffer through the learning curve, though, they’ll likely be left behind. In some respects, however, they might be onto something. We’re not designed to stare at a screen every waking hour, as evidenced by the increase in digital eye strain.

While there’s little time to lose for those who have not embraced computers, there’s also something to be said for resisting the world of all digital all the time.

This brave new digital world requires balance. Yes, we must learn how to use EHRs and integrate them to share data with practitioners and patients. At the same time, however, we must still focus on the task at hand, examining patients using interpersonal communication.

We need to learn to balance living in the digital world with living in the real world in real time with real people . . . at the very least, there will be less dry eye if we take our eyes away from the screen for a few hours each day.

jsailer@jobson.com