As a guy, I am entitled to be a fan of badly made war movies if for no other reason than they are war movies and come with a built-in plot, which minimizes the need to think too much—which is why some are so fond of Meaningful Use, but lest I get ahead of myself.

One such film, A Bridge Too Far, starred everyone but Mel Brooks.  The movie depicts Operation Market Garden, the allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges over the Lower Rhine in Arnhem in the occupied Netherlands.  The operation fails, with many of the allied soldiers killed or taken prisoner.

At the conclusion of the movie the British generals are assessing their performance in a formal manner only the British can pull off.  Ignoring the failures, the dead, and those captured by the Germans, the last lines are:

Lt. General Frederick “Boy” Browning: I’ve just been on to Monty. He’s very proud and pleased.
Major General Urquhart (played by Sean Connery): Pleased?
Lt. General Frederick “Boy” Browning: Of course. He thinks Market Garden was 90% successful.
Major General Urquhart: But what do you think?
Lt. General Frederick “Boy” Browning: Well, as you know, I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far.

For those who have not seen the movie, the allied failure resulted from having spread their resources too thinly, for trying to accomplish too much with too little with too little time.

A bridge too far.  A euphemism for biting off more than one should, for the idea not being amongst the best laid plans of mice and men, one having the intelligence of a bowl of mice.

EHR.  Meaningful Use. Accountable Care Organizations.  ICD-10.

Which of these is a hospital’s bridge too far?  Or, is it all of them.