View Story | 28 comments
Comments: Expand Shrink Hide (Always) | Indented Flat (Always)
Electronic Medical Records maybe the only thing Bush has right but of course it is all talk with no money to make it happen. EMRs are a good thing. All you have to do is look at the Veterans Administration to see their positive impact.
Prior to instituting EMRs, the VA was known for being highly bureaucratic and giving mediocre care at best. EMRs have automated many processes to streamline bureaucracy and improve the patient experience. They have improved quality by allowing better care coordination, reducing duplicate tests and reducing medical errors. EMRs have played a major role in the VA become a model health organization it is today.
I understand the privacy concerns but EMRs will be controlled by doctors and other providers not insurers. Additionally, the paper world is not nearly as secure as people think.
by mets2005 on Fri Mar 23, 2007 at 10:54:05 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
Yes, but people in the VA are covered. So there's no concern about that. I agree that otherwise, electronic medical records help w/ accuracy, reduce med errors, you don't have to decipher the doctor's writing, etc.
War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus. - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
by Margot on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 12:03:39 AM PDT
I understand the privacy concerns but EMRs will be controlled by doctors and other providers not insurers.
What the hell does that mean? Can I tell my doctor not to enter the results of a test or his diagnosis into my EMR until I decide whether it will have an adverse affect my ability to be insured or employed?
It seems to me that the way things are going people would be well advised to first get medical diagnosis under false names and then decide whether to get a second opinion under their real name.
If you don't solve the privacy and insurance problems first EMR will become something that people will attempt to circumvent in ways that with be harmful to the whole system.
by Fred in Vermont on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 05:29:01 AM PDT
There are already strict privacy rules on the book through the HIPPA laws. A doctor cannot share your medical records with anyone without your consent. It is the form you sign when you first come to the doctor's office and most people sign it without thinking. However, it can be revoked at any time you choose.
It always amazes me how skitish people are about electronic transactions in the medical field but they think nothing of it in the banking field, another area where sensitive information is transmitted. As banking has shown, there are ways to make these transactions and information very safe. Nothing is foolproof, not even paper transaction, but electronic security is pretty good these days.
by mets2005 on Sat Mar 24, 2007 at 10:02:34 AM PDT
wide narrow
View Story | 28 comments