Re: Md's paid more for e-health records
- From: Debs <YOURFOOTdebs02114@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:26:36 -0400
Don't forget a HUGE benefit... no handwriting!! A lot of medical errors occur because of bad handwriting, medical orders as well as prescriptions. It will really help reduce errors.
Debs
Hawki63@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
top posted.
OG....personally...and professionally....I think EMR is a wonderful idea....and would really benefit YOU more than you think...
we all have been to DR X who has to skim backwards into the abyss of our charts...hoping to weed out the info he seeks...
then if he sends us to Dr Y....guess what...he has to repeat or reread...usually the former...
this is not to our benefit
that the govt has to provide an incentive is well....maybe a way to get more docs...esp the older ones ...to participate in the 21st century
what I think you are missing....is the positives to YOU the patient...
our PCP went to EMR this year...and we LOVE it....
now when we see him..he uses his mouse on the exam room laptop..and can easily and quickly seek out things like...when did I do labs ?? what dose of meds are you on?? is your mammo and pap and psa etc up to date...etc...this all with the speed of computer strokes
then...he orders say..labs for me...echo for heart...etc...
within days I get an email...gives me ALL my results...every NUMBER of each test...plus he gives a "plan"....ie..."your cholesterol is a bit too high...increase drug ww by yy mg...repeat labs in xx months"...
then he hits another category..my drug store info...and auto faxes to them a new script to cover the increase in drug dosage....
better still...he has contracted with Relay Health which is an online data collection source...I spent some time inputing ALL the dates and specifics of both of our health histories...now both doc and we can access this info...as can any other doc he may send us to...
so calm down...this is a positive..not a negative...
this is not like losing your credit card or ss info online and having your life savings wiped out...
my opinion only of course
hawki
"OldGoat" <oldgoatmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:0uNVi.9556$%r.6157@xxxxxxxxxxx
Hey Folks,
This was pretty weird for me to post, as my commentary was getting longer than the article, and I figured what I was bitching about should be read first. Chalk up one for bottom posting, but old habits...
For some weird reason this innocuous little article began stirring up some thoughts that were pretty dark. I can't explain why, so maybe you can.
Is there any reason to feel disturbed about our government insistence that my "confidential health records" are put in to electronic form? Why does a disturbing bit of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" begin to run in my mind..
"Are there any queers in the theater tonight?
Get them up against the wall!
There's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me,
Get him up against the wall!
That one looks Jewish!
And that one's a coon!
Who let all of this riff-raff into the room?
There's one smoking a joint,
And another with spots!
If I had my way,
I'd have all of you shot!"
(with apologies for the racial slurs or any errors in lyric)
UberAmerican via selective genetic breeding? Or just denial of Medicare coverage for the most common stuff Good idea for a bad movie? Termination in utero of "defective" fetuses? I'm a big old "pro-choicer"and the thought it could be dictated makes me want to hurl. This electronic surveillance of ones health care just seems so Nazi-ish(I know "The Wall" playing in my head is some of that, not all, but some). Whatever it is, it's ugly and it stinks and I can't quite put my finger on it.
Sorry for the opinionated rambling, you know it's not like me, especially when I respond to my own posts, but this just does not seem right or needed.
The Abyss does stare back, and it's been one of those days.--og
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"OldGoat" <oldgoatmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:IIMVi.24318$eD3.22033@xxxxxxxxxxx
US makes new push on e-health records
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press WriterMon Oct 29, 8:54 PM ET
The Bush administration is recruiting about 1,200 doctors nationally to remove the paperwork from their medical practice in return for higher Medicare payments.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt billed the project Monday as one of the administration's most important steps yet toward meeting President Bush's goal of nationwide adoption of electronic health records by 2014.
Medicare will pay the physicians extra for completing tasks online, such as when ordering prescriptions or recording the results of lab tests. The highest payments will go to those physicians who most aggressively use the technology and who score the highest in an annual evaluation.
Many health analysts believe widespread use of electronic health records will reduce medical errors and could potentially slow soaring health care expenses. Yet, only about 10 percent of doctors in solo or small-group practices use such records. Upfront costs for putting in place such computer systems can range from $20,000 to $40,000.
Many doctors see the records as helping insurance companies or patients, but don't believe the upfront investment is worth the hassle, Leavitt said.
"They are saying: 'Look, what's in this for me? My practice is working OK as it is. I need to have some benefit,' Leavitt said. "And they are right."
Officials say the program won't result in a net increase in federal spending. That's because improved care and a greater focus on prevention should make up for the initial investment paid to the doctors.
Participating doctors could see their reimbursements increase by several thousand dollars annually when they treat Medicare patients. The administration has also contacted insurance companies and asked them to consider similar rate increases for participating physicians. That way, doctors would have more incentive to participate.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to speed adoption of electronic record keeping, but lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on many key issues, namely the scope of the federal government's role in paying for startup costs.
Dr. Joseph Heyman of Amesbury, Mass., said he's used electronic health records since 2001. He paid for it on his own, but it helped that he was just starting his practice and didn't have to go through all the work of transferring records from paper to computer.
Heyman said he spends less on administrative expenses because of his reliance on electronic record keeping. For example, he needs no storage space for charts and no employees to pull charts.
"I have only one employee. I can spend more time with each patient because my overhead is so low," said Heyman, a member of the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees.
Heyman said he can access patient records over the Internet when he's away from the office, and patients can contact him through his Web site.
"I can go look at her chart, I can refill a prescription. I can give her an appointment, almost anything from any place that I am," Heyman said.
But many doctors believe that adopting electronic record keeping is difficult, which is why they often need more financial incentives to make the move, Heyman said.
"It takes a long time to convert. At the beginning, it's very, very slow and it interferes with your work flow," he said.
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