The last two messages since last Sunday re Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) were presented from the viewpoint of two of the doctors in our group. Below is some very thoughtful insight from a self-employed professional who has worked with EMRs for years. We are fortunate to have these views from people in the field rather than hear about it from the anti-American hostile media. All three of these accounts portray different problems not only with EMRs but with the entire universal healthcare system that BO is going to try to jam down our throats in short order. All three messages taken together present a horrible cumulative picture. Better bone up on the the healthcare issue in the next few days to make sure you know how important it should be to you because there is something like a 1,018 page initiative coming your way from BO that will cost you dearly - not just in money but maybe with your life & your limbs.
---Original Message---
As someone who performs the transcription of medical records for physicians in clinic settings, private practices and very large hospitals, some of this information is very troubling to me. Regardless of thoughts pro or con to the healthcare reform, rather, the threat of EMR is personal to me, in that I have lost jobs relative to EMR, as a self-employed professional. The doctors cannot have things both ways. When the prospect of EMR was tossed about - which this has been ongoing for years and has been implemented long before BO became president, the physicians were very pro this idea as it
would save them money. That, of course, after transcription and records were sent to China or India or the Philippines because it would save the physicians tons of money but came back illegible or frighteningly incorrect, from a legal standpoint. Of course, the majority of these physicians also do not provide healthcare benefits to their employees, and hospitals jumped on the bandwagon, too, not totally for accuracy purposes, but rather, so they could save in not having to provide benefits for personnel to take care of medical records. I have negotiated contracts with physicians and with hospitals, and always it is about the cheapest possible way they can keep records, without increasing their malpractice risk. That is not about privacy or accuracy, but MONEY. Now, EMR is actually "old hat" to those of us in the business, rather, we are now perfecting speech recognition programs and they are doing much better than I had expected. So much of this discussion is redundant and not relevant to the larger market. Our own family physician here in VA uses EMR, carries around a handheld little machine and inputs all of our data, and absolutely LOVES it. He insists it has saved him tons of money, and keeps their records with extreme accuracy since he inputs data right there as he is visiting with us.
As someone who performs the transcription of medical records for physicians in clinic settings, private practices and very large hospitals, some of this information is very troubling to me. Regardless of thoughts pro or con to the healthcare reform, rather, the threat of EMR is personal to me, in that I have lost jobs relative to EMR, as a self-employed professional. The doctors cannot have things both ways. When the prospect of EMR was tossed about - which this has been ongoing for years and has been implemented long before BO became president, the physicians were very pro this idea as it
would save them money. That, of course, after transcription and records were sent to China or India or the Philippines because it would save the physicians tons of money but came back illegible or frighteningly incorrect, from a legal standpoint. Of course, the majority of these physicians also do not provide healthcare benefits to their employees, and hospitals jumped on the bandwagon, too, not totally for accuracy purposes, but rather, so they could save in not having to provide benefits for personnel to take care of medical records. I have negotiated contracts with physicians and with hospitals, and always it is about the cheapest possible way they can keep records, without increasing their malpractice risk. That is not about privacy or accuracy, but MONEY. Now, EMR is actually "old hat" to those of us in the business, rather, we are now perfecting speech recognition programs and they are doing much better than I had expected. So much of this discussion is redundant and not relevant to the larger market. Our own family physician here in VA uses EMR, carries around a handheld little machine and inputs all of our data, and absolutely LOVES it. He insists it has saved him tons of money, and keeps their records with extreme accuracy since he inputs data right there as he is visiting with us.
I think the bigger picture that needs to be addressed is the fact that we are ALL currently paying through our insurance premiums for the uninsured who cannot be turned away from emergency rooms, which in turn are being used for primary care. The percentage of emergency room visits that are NOT of an emergency nature, is astounding. That and the fact that someone has to stop the insurance companies from telling the physicians what they can or cannot do with respect to patient care. As much as I don't want the government controlling my healthcare choices, even less do I want the money-hungry insurance companies dictating what I can or cannot do with my body and my care, and that of my family. With over a million dollars spent every day to keep healthcare from ever being competitive causes me to think that we need to get control out of the hands of the insurance companies.
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