Economic Stimulus Bill Mandates Electronic Health Records for Every Citizen without Opt-out or Patient Consent Provisions »
Posted By Varadinum 9 months, 2 weeks ago in Health & FitnessThe Institute for Health Freedom (IHF) warns that the economic stimulus bill mandates electronic health records for every citizen without providing for opt-out or patient consent provisions. Without those protections, Americans electronic health records could be shared without their consent with over 600,000 covered entities through the forthcoming nationally linked electronic health-records network, says Sue A. Blevins, IHF president.
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chevydog9 months, 2 weeks ago
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Electronic records are one of those "nice" things that technology can give us. But think we have to pay attention to both the "electronic" and "record" parts. No doctor would ever share paper-based records without patient consent; so should it be with these. Likewise with electronic security (never foolproof, I know). Need lots better than the average security for these.
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IMHO, one goes onto the internet these days with the presumption of failure. What personal data you have out there WILL be compromised sometime. Your protection --sort of -- is that whoever gets hold of the variously formatted information has to sift through it and find you.-
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Dionys9 months, 2 weeks ago
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"Likewise with electronic security (never foolproof, I know). "
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People, though, assume that paper records are more secure. I worked for the intelligence community for a while and did systems testing. More often than not, paper systems were MORE vulnerable than electronic when we're talking about companies. In terms of government records, paper systems are less vulnerable if they're in highly secured locations.
If encryption is used and people are required to implement certain security schemes, it can easily be made fairly secure (more secure than paper records) and fairly easy to implement.
Public key systems cued to an individual's card matched with various other security systems could easily be implemented and made safe.
That said, there's always a danger of information getting into the wrong hands, and it's most likely into the hands of your Insurance people that you'd be wanting information held back.
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Beau78909 months, 2 weeks ago
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I wonder what rationale has been given for maintaining an enormous electronic database of health records with no provision to opt out. It seems to me that this can help only private insurers. And why would it be part of the stimulus bill? Doesn't Congress understand that we're tired of having unrelated measures buried in emergency legislation, as done with the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act? Or does simply not care?
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I also wonder if this is part of Obama's original stimulus plan, or if it has been added somewhere along the legislative process by a member of Congress.-
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GehlLady9 months, 2 weeks ago
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Beau,
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This isn't new, he is just using the stimulus plan to make it happen. He stated many times during his campaign this would be a method of 'reducing health care costs'. As more and more of the 'stimulus plan' comes to light, think back to his campaign......some of the glossed over, more controversial proposals he made are being pushed through in this misnamed stimulus plan under the same tactics used by the Bush administration. Fear, the most effective weapon GWB had, is not only a republican attribute. -
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amazed9 months, 2 weeks ago
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The rationale is improved health care because your records are more easily available to consulting doctors, easier to access your records and history in the case of an accident or you are otherwise unable to provide it yourself.
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If you squint and don't think too much, it sounds like a lovely idea. If you actually think about it, it could very well be one step closer to the totalitarian nanny government that only paranoids believe is on either side's (democrat or republican) agenda.
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Tangent0019 months, 2 weeks ago
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If you're insured by Kaiser-Permanente, it's likely your medical records are already in electronic form. It's far more efficient than paper records, and may just save your life if you get in an accident far from your primary care doctor. Unless you are some kind of celebrity nobody is really gonna care when you had that boil lanced, and insurance companies ALREADY have access to your medical records. Paper records are also vulnerable to fires or other mishaps, then guess what? You're SOL.
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Electronic records would also be useful in determining insurance fraud or identity theft.
As I understand it, unless specifically rescinded, the same protections and consent laws apply to electronic versions of records as to the paper records. The data does not change, merely the medium. -
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Tangent0019 months, 2 weeks ago
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Before issuing you an insurance policy, insurance companies have the right to review your medical records. Some employers have limited access to your records as well, if the job has certain mobility standards that would disqualify someone who was disabled.
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moxxxxxxxxxx9 months, 2 weeks ago
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The general public have been sold a pile of crap on this one. There is no turning back because Electronic Health Records has become a major industry supported by pharma corps and insurance companies. You can even get a college degree in Electronic Health Records. Electronic health records is a way to micro manage the doctor patient relationship. Doctors and patients have lost all freedom to decide what treatments to pursue. Doctors are now required to code eveything they do and if the code doesn't match what the insurance wants to pay you will go without treatment unless you want to pay yourself. Next thing coming is employers telling you to sign release of information so they can have access to your health information they are already paying your health insurance so they will demand access to your health records. Electronic health records was a scheme by insurance and pharm corps, they threw out the golden carrot and now we have an industry that will invade the most private aspect of human life. HEALTHCARE! Anyone supporting Electronic Health Records has gained financial advantage from it or they just simply don't understand long term consequences when private information is invaded and shared.
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fsev419 months, 2 weeks ago
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It would seem obvious to me that this is President OBama's way to get a "double whammy" out of economic stimulus. He has advocated reducing medical records to electronics throughout his campaign as one way of reigning in health care costs. Many experts in the field of health care have been advocating this for a number of years. By spending stimulus money on this project he will be creating new jobs in the information systems and health care fields and investing in a long term results project. Kills two birds with one stone. Makes sense to me.
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zoeyzaire9 months, 2 weeks ago
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moxxxxxxxxxx9 months, 1 week ago
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This is very similiar to how managed care evolved allowing health insurances to control every aspect of healthcare and not for the benefit of the people they serve but for the benefit of their profit margins. Managed care and HMO''s were sold to the people as a way to assit doctors in providing better care for their patients by calling doctors gatekeepers and focusing on prevention. It turned into a game of denying care and arguing with doctors over what treatment they could provide. Electronic health records just gives insurance companies more access to control patient care, and control means denying coverage and denying claims.
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The only way electronic records will benefit is through Universal Health Care or the option of opting out. Insurance companies in the healthcare is destroying healthcare.
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