The final version of the current stimulus bill that has been passed in both the House and Senate created an “Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology,” of which the coordinator will compile a national database and plan for “the utilization of an electronic health record (EHR) for each person in the United States by 2014” (2009, Lucas). Whether a person is just accident prone or has serious health issues, they constantly have to fill out medical forms each doctor or emergency room visit. This database could reduce the amount of paperwork needed by hospitals if they were allowed access to the records. Paperwork is a problem when a nurse cannot read the doctor’s handwriting for a patient’s prescription. Several hospitals, including St. Vincent hospital, part of the Clarion Health Network, are in the process of installing or have installed operating systems in which nurses can enter patient information into a computer database so the records can be accessed by different departments. The technology has allowed easier communication between hospital departments individually and with patients’ insurance companies.
However, a computerized system leaves private information vulnerable. While President Obama thinks an electronic medical record will reduce error rates and long-term cost of health care, and create jobs right now (2009, Lucas), many security measures have to be put in place before the information can be truly secure. Patients could become the targets of identity theft from computer hackers. The information could also become susceptible when it is sent to insurance companies for billing purposes. While staff could also view paperwork they shouldn’t, they could view personal information easier on a computer and close it when someone comes than they could with paperwork. The only people who should be able to see personal medical records should be those authorized by the patient to view them, such as nurses, doctors, insurance agents, family, or close friends. Unless health care is universalized, the government does not necessarily need to know everyone's history.
What do you think?
Referenced Article:
Lucas, F. (2009, February 12). Final Stimulus Bill Creates Government Database that Will Hold Every American’s Personal Medical Records. Retrieved March 21, 2009 from CNSNews.com. Web Site: http://www.cnsnews.com/Public/content/article.aspx?Rsrc ID=43463
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According to entrepreneur.com President Bill Clinton addressed these concerns in his January 2000 State of the Union address by emphasizing that breakthroughs in science and technology "must be used in ways that reflect our most cherished values. First and foremost, we must safeguard our citizens' privacy.” I agree very much with this statement. The government should not have free will to know a persons life. Some people argue that a centralized national database will make diagnosis and treatment easier for doctors. They say the reason why you always have to fill out a lengthy health history whenever you go to a new physician is because doctor's offices maintain a separate record-keeping system (according to wiki.idebate.org). I don’t mind filling out papers at the hospital. Yes I might be inconvenient. I think this all comes down to people being lazy and employers wanting to not pay as many people. I do not agree with having my medical recodes open to anyone.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel like it is just a way for the government to track everyone. That sounds very paranoid, but I'm sure they could use these records to find people. It would be good to catch wounded criminals who seek medical treatment after they have eluded the cops, but isn't that doing their job for them? I also agree it will take away a lot of jobs, which will not help our economy as it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree that only certain people should be able to view our health records. It is private information that isn't anyone else's buisness but our own and the doctors who are taking care of us. I had never thought that nurses might misread the doctor's handwriting before but I can see how that might happen since most doctor's have pretty messy handwriting. I have read that using electronic medical records will help to save time when going to the doctor's office but a lot of people don't like that. They say when they go into the doctor they kind of like it when the doctor spends a while on them so they know they are getting his/her full attention on their problem instead of just an in and out sort of thing. Personally I hate waiting in the waiting room filling out papers that they should already have on file. Where do these papers go and who is seeing them? I agree that only yourself, family, and doctors should be able to see your medical records.
ReplyDeleteWhen I walk into the doctor's office and I have a problem, I want to be helped right away. I don't like filling out papers every single time I make a visit to the doctor. We have most of our personal information on social websites and webpages anyways, so I don't think it would be a problem for doctors who can actually help us to view that personal information. I think people have their priorities in the wrong places. We update our Myspace or Facebook every day, almost every hour, but hesistant to update our health status. Our priority should be our health instead of our status on websites. I would rather trust a doctor with my personal information than a random website. Through the government knowing our health status, it can also increase the army's population because the government would know the truth about who is really sicka dn who was just lying. I think technology overall has its advantages and disadvantages, but I'd rather have the doctor fix my gunshot wound right away then take away life-saving time to fill out documents.
ReplyDeleteUsing a database to centralize health information is a good idea. Most people complain about the amount of paper work that they have to fill out when they go to the doctor. While this does create another way for people to steal identities, it is just one of several they can do. If they can make this secure then it will revolutionize going to see a doctor.
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