There has long been talk of converting medical records to electronic media and the advantages it will bring. Hospitals will be able to pull up a patient's records instantly, saving time, minimizing errors, and ultimately saving money. There is currently a bill in Congress to address the issue, but problems in the wording of it have some having doubts about whether they'll support it when it comes to a vote.
In the current bill before Congress, some doctors are eligible for bonus Medicare payments under certain circumstances. All they need to do is show that they have used electronic medical records in a 'meaningful' way. The term 'meaningful' is not defined in the bill, thus leaving things wide open for abuse and fraud. So some are justifiably balking at the bill as it is currently written.
Recently House Minority Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voicing their concerns about the $87 billion dollar bill. The bill sends Medicaid money to the states, but it doesn't appear that the states are required to monitor the spending of the tax dollars in any way to assure there's no waste.
The pessimism being expressed by Republicans and some health care professionals is not that surprising. The health care system today is broken, and everyone agrees with that. How best to fix it is at issue. There is concern among some that spending too much money too fast will allow the changes to progress in an inefficient and wasteful way.
Both sides have good arguments, and the issue does need to be address. If we spend money now on medical information technology with no oversight, then we will have wasted billions of dollars on a broken system that remains broken. However if we don't invest the money, then we will still be behind technologically. We will continue to follow the issue as it works its way through the legislature. - 15224
In the current bill before Congress, some doctors are eligible for bonus Medicare payments under certain circumstances. All they need to do is show that they have used electronic medical records in a 'meaningful' way. The term 'meaningful' is not defined in the bill, thus leaving things wide open for abuse and fraud. So some are justifiably balking at the bill as it is currently written.
Recently House Minority Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voicing their concerns about the $87 billion dollar bill. The bill sends Medicaid money to the states, but it doesn't appear that the states are required to monitor the spending of the tax dollars in any way to assure there's no waste.
The pessimism being expressed by Republicans and some health care professionals is not that surprising. The health care system today is broken, and everyone agrees with that. How best to fix it is at issue. There is concern among some that spending too much money too fast will allow the changes to progress in an inefficient and wasteful way.
Both sides have good arguments, and the issue does need to be address. If we spend money now on medical information technology with no oversight, then we will have wasted billions of dollars on a broken system that remains broken. However if we don't invest the money, then we will still be behind technologically. We will continue to follow the issue as it works its way through the legislature. - 15224
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