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.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the current bill allows doctors to receive bonus Medicare payments if they use the electronic records in a 'meaningful' way. The problem is that there is no clear definition for the term 'meaningful' and there are concerns that it could open the door to fraud and Medicare abuse.
House Minority Republicans recently voiced their concerns in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, the $87 billion allocated for more Medicaid money for states doesn't appear to hold them accountable for ensuring that the tax dollars are spent wisely. Some in the health care industry agree.
There are also concerns from some that a sudden influx of funds will be too much too fast, which could cause the money to end up being wasted. That the health care system is broken is a well known fact. The pessimism shown by Republicans is not really surprising, considering all of the waste and inefficiencies in the system as it stands today.
Either way we choose, there will certainly be a trade off. If we don't invest in the technology, then we will remain behind the times and the problem will never be fixed. But if we do decide to spend the money to convert the medical records to electronic media, then we must assure there is oversight to avoid wasteful spending of possibly billions of dollars, leaving us in the same condition we started with. We will continue to watch this legislation as it moves through Congress.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the current bill allows doctors to receive bonus Medicare payments if they use the electronic records in a 'meaningful' way. The problem is that there is no clear definition for the term 'meaningful' and there are concerns that it could open the door to fraud and Medicare abuse.
House Minority Republicans recently voiced their concerns in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, the $87 billion allocated for more Medicaid money for states doesn't appear to hold them accountable for ensuring that the tax dollars are spent wisely. Some in the health care industry agree.
There are also concerns from some that a sudden influx of funds will be too much too fast, which could cause the money to end up being wasted. That the health care system is broken is a well known fact. The pessimism shown by Republicans is not really surprising, considering all of the waste and inefficiencies in the system as it stands today.
Either way we choose, there will certainly be a trade off. If we don't invest in the technology, then we will remain behind the times and the problem will never be fixed. But if we do decide to spend the money to convert the medical records to electronic media, then we must assure there is oversight to avoid wasteful spending of possibly billions of dollars, leaving us in the same condition we started with. We will continue to watch this legislation as it moves through Congress.
About the Author:
These days more senior citizens are migrating to warmer climates. If you are in need of Texas health insurance, the professionals at www.GoHealthInsurance.com can supply you with multiple quotes from the leading carriers including Unicare, Blue Cross, and Aetna. Let them do the difficult part for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment