IamZed
Premium
join:2001-01-10
Dayton, OH
| Not a good thing at all
The insurance companies will love this. Get a cold? Your rates go up. Have anything seriously wrong with you? No insurance for you. I wonder who is backing this initiate the most.
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| I don't think electronic medical records are a bad thing as long as authentication remains properly in place. Let's say that you are on vacation and something happens to you that renders you unconscious. Currently, the emergency room docs won't have your medical history and will have to guess as to what you are allergic to, what medication you are taking, and what medical condition(s) you might have that could have caused this incident. With electronic medical records, they would be able to pull up your medical record, see that just what your medical history is, and make sure that your treatment is adjusted accordingly.
I don't believe insurance companies will have access to these systems any more than they have access to your current medical record. (They can infer things based on types of medications ordered, tests done, etc, but I don't think they have access to your actual medical record.)
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-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
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TheGiant
Next Year Is Here.
join:2001-03-28
Augusta, GA
1 edit | reply to IamZed
I think my medical records should be kept by me. When I go to the doctor I could bring them in Paper or digital format. The doctor could update them and I would be on my way. To many chances for abuse with such a database.
A standsrd format that the whole Health care industry can agree on would be helpful. That would cut the learning cure down for Health care professionals that tend to move from Job to job. It might also reduce the chance for errors in the records.
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Keep America safe Bush 2004
»www.georgewbush.com/KerryMediaCenter/ |
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coxta
Ultramundane
Premium
join:2000-07-15
LALALALALALA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| When you need your medical records in an emergency, are you going to have them on hand? There are many advantages to having records available at a moments notice through a central clearing house.
Safety and privacy? Take a look at HIPAA regulations. They are extremely strigent. Much more so than laws concerning your personal financial records.
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Religion is for people who have not yet had a spiritual experience. |
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Mullberry
@royal-usa.net
| reply to TheGiant
It can be a good thing
Having you maintain your own health records seems like a bad idea to me. What if you lose or damage them? Do you have backups? That are up to date? Given the fact that when most home PC users lose a hard drive, the lose most of their info because of no backups, that just sounds like trouble. If they're paper, same issues - the dog ate em, lost in the shuffle, etc.
I think an electronic system has so many more advantages over paper. Not as likely to contain errors, Doctors/nurses can spot trends easier with graphing instead of reading columns of numbers from each visit, instant alerts when there may be a possible medication reaction based on other prescriptions, more accurate details on your current needs and history (do you always check off the right boxes and list all current meds?), instant sharing of info between doctors instead of waiting on a courier, etc. |
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TheGiant
Next Year Is Here.
join:2001-03-28
Augusta, GA
| reply to coxta
Re: Not a good thing at all
said by coxta  :
When you need your medical records in an emergency, are you going to have them on hand? There are many advantages to having records available at a moments notice through a central clearing house.
Safety and privacy? Take a look at HIPAA regulations. They are extremely stringent. Much more so than laws concerning your personal financial records.
Where is the teeth in HIPPA sure it sounds good but in practice it is very lax. i know I regularly inform Doctors that this and that is against HIPPA and they say I can't be bothered with that. Keeping personal Medical records would be a chore but one that I would be willing to do and would not recommend for everyone. Yes I would keep backups and I would have them on me always with a usb keychain drive that could have a medic alert symbol on it. It could be done.
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Keep America safe Bush 2004 »www.georgewbush.com/KerryMediaCenter/ |
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BizFinancing
Premium
join:2003-01-10
Port Orchard, WA
| reply to Mullberry
Re: It can be a good thing
I agree, the electronic route would be best to efficiently handle your personal medical records especially in the case of an emergency. Also it helps to reduce the hassles of transporting your records, reducing time and eliminating redundant forms for you to fill out at each new doctor's office.
The drug interaction issues is another good point, this will eliminate or reduce and chances for errors that could be fatal especially if you are not in a condition to tell ER staff what meds you are on.
The only area of concern that I would have is using the public internet as the means to access these records.
Unfortunately as history has shown us, no matter how good the encryption is, there is always a chance that it has some sort of flaw that a hacker/cracker can take advantage of.
My best recommendation would be to create a separate, private network to interconnect all participating medical offices, pharmacies and insurance companies. |
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coxta
Ultramundane
Premium
join:2000-07-15
LALALALALALA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to coxta
Re: Not a good thing at all
Times are changing and so does information storage and the size of medical records. A USB keyring wouldn't hold all your medical records. A single imaging study would consume far more memory than that. This isn't just about a paper chart in your doctor's office, but having records available in a hospital in which you would be transferred from department to department or many other scenarios.
Here is a spot from one of the world's premier medical instituion:
quote:
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester announced Friday that the paper trail ended for outpatients. From now on, the medical records resulting from nearly 1.5 million outpatient visits per year will be created and stored electronically.
It's also about consolidation of the medical community and the creation of centers of excellence. Remove the community hospital and have everyone sent to a specialty hospital.
Healthcare is the second largest expenditure for the US government outside of the defense budget. Anything that might increase the efficiency of medical care could have the potential for decreasing the financial costs. I'm sure you could still maintain your own medical records, but don't expect Medicare, Medcaid, or your Insurance company to assist you.
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Religion is for people who have not yet had a spiritual experience. |
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P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
Premium
join:2001-08-29
Mineola, NY
clubs: 
| reply to TheGiant
said by TheGiant :
financial records.
Where is the teeth in HIPPA sure it sounds good but in practice it is very lax. i know I regularly inform Doctors that this and that is against HIPPA and they say I can't be bothered with that. Keeping personal Medical records would be a chore but one that I would be willing to do and would not recommend for everyone. Yes I would keep backups and I would have them on me always with a usb keychain drive that could have a medic alert symbol on it. It could be done.
Did you read it? Do you know that you also loose your job since most companies imposed such strict rules one infraction GONE!....
"(1) IN GENERAL.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary shall impose on any person who violates a provision of this part a penalty of not more than $100 for each such violation, except that the total amount imposed on the person for all violations of an identical requirement or prohibition during a calendar year may not exceed $25,000.
"(1) be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both;
"(2) if the offense is committed under false pretenses, be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; and
"(3) if the offense is committed with intent to sell, transfer, or use individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm, be fined not more than $250,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
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www.stopfcc.comI do not think the government needs to restrict free speech especially on a device that has an off knob. |
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P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
Premium
join:2001-08-29
Mineola, NY
clubs:
| reply to IamZed
said by IamZed :
The insurance companies will love this. Get a cold? Your rates go up. Have anything seriously wrong with you? No insurance for you. I wonder who is backing this initiate the most.
LOL...they already get a copy of your claim and everything wrong with you...and they retain this information even longer then your doc does....THEY ALREADY KNOW!
All contracts also include the right to review medical records and charts as part of on-site visit and audit privliages....
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www.stopfcc.comI do not think the government needs to restrict free speech especially on a device that has an off knob. |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| reply to TheGiant
See P Ness's post. HIPPA has teeth. Those docs that "can't be bothered" with HIPPA are risking fines and jail time. I work for a health care network and before we roll out a new application that even remotely touches on patient data, we ask our lawyers whether it runs afoul of HIPPA. If it does (or falls into a gray area), we modify it until it's good to go. In fact, a good way to give a health care lawyer a heart attack is to suggest doing something that flagrantly violates HIPPA. 
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-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
http://www.PCQandA.com/
http://www.urateit.com/ |
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LoungeLizard2
join:2003-11-21
Vallejo, CA
| reply to Jason Levine
If you're allergic to medication, then you wear a medi-alert bracelet, not post all your medical records on-line. Why should my dentist, or OGBYN know that I went to a psychologist? Also....there are so many mistakes on credit reports, why would I want my medical records to be the same. |
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LoungeLizard2
join:2003-11-21
Vallejo, CA
| reply to Mullberry
Re: It can be a good thing
Yep...those privacy laws are going to protect us......Until they offshore the work. Linda in Saudi Arabia, doesn't give a F*** about our laws. Has everyone forgotten the Lady in India that blackmailed an American HMO? She threatened to post patient medical records on the Internet, if she didn't get her back pay. Just to show she was serious, she faxed them a few pages of Patient information. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PRIVACY. Don't expect the government to protect you or your information.
Either wake up, or keep drinking the Kool-aid, and believing everything the government/media tells you. |
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IamZed
Premium
join:2001-01-10
Dayton, OH | reply to P Ness
Re: Not a good thing at all
That is a good point P Ness. I retract my bitch. |
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Anon_Blah_Blah_Blah
@rr.com | reply to Jason Levine
Its HIPAA, not HIPPA. |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| reply to LoungeLizard2
said by LoungeLizard2 :
If you're allergic to medication, then you wear a medi-alert bracelet, not post all your medical records on-line. Why should my dentist, or OGBYN know that I went to a psychologist? Also....there are so many mistakes on credit reports, why would I want my medical records to be the same.
Not everyone who's allergic to medication wears a medi-alert bracelet. My wife is allergic to certain commonly used antibiotics. If she were in the ER (unable to communicate her allergies and without an informed family member handy), she might be given the wrong antibiotic and have a bad, life threatening reaction.
As for them being online, we're not talking about a website. Docs won't log into www.allhealthrecordsarehere.com. Instead, they would have a secure interface to a network that will allow them to view and add to your medical record.
For an analogous situation, look at ATMs. They are connected via a network without being online in the World Wide Web sense of the word. You can't simply edit your balance because you can access your bank account anywhere worldwide.
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-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
http://www.PCQandA.com/
http://www.urateit.com/ |
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Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA
| reply to Jason Levine
said by Jason Levine :
HIPPA has teeth.
Let me ask what qualifications do you use to determine who should have access to a patients medical records? Often times the only thing someone needs to provide to prove involvement in a patients care is the patients name, address, and phone number. The passwords to get past the protections HIPPA provides are all printed in the Fsking phone book. It's the equivalent of encrypting files with the best available encryption but using the word "password" as the password.
The only effect HIPPA has had is to make it a pain in the butt for everyone involved in a patients care(doctors, pharmacy's, patients, insurance companies, and assistance programs) to do their jobs. This would be ok except for the fact that it is totally ineffective.
HIPPA is a perfect example of defective legislature whose only true purpose was to win political points for those who passed it.
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Windmills do not work that way! Good Night! |
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enOehT
Premium
join:2003-05-17
Langhorne, PA
| reply to LoungeLizard2
said by LoungeLizard2 :
Why should my dentist, or OGBYN know that I went to a psychologist?
What is wrong with seeing a psychologist? The brain is just another organ. You shouldn't attach a stigma to it. This is 2004 right? not 1954?
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Go see Fahrenheit 9/11! And make sure to vote in November.  |
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LoungeLizard2
join:2003-11-21
Vallejo, CA
1 edit | Here's a slight misgiving...
Insurance companies are starting to DENY coverage, if they see that you were prescribed anti-depressants. Be afraid, and not for the reasons Tom Ridge gives... |
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LoungeLizard2
join:2003-11-21
Vallejo, CA | reply to Jason Levine
How has she survived this long?
So what does she do now? If I had a life threatening allergy, I would wear a bracelet, and not wait for the government to protect me, (and violate everyone Else's privacy). |
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