Ain't Technology Wonderful?

This is an interesting article by a doctor who is talking about The One's plan to spend a ton of money getting everyone's medical on some massive country-wide computer system. One step closer to nationalized (uh, socialized) medicine:

Will Computerized Medical Records Really Mean Better (and Cheaper) Health Care?

If the cheerleaders - including the one in the Oval Office - are right, computerized medical records will save us all: save jobs, save money, reduce errors, and transform health care as we know it. In a January speech, President Obama evoked the promise of new technology: This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests," he said, and he has proposed investing $50 billion over the next five years to help make it happen.
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Of course, the "pro" group - including our current idiot in the White House - think it's just swell. Save money, time, whatever.

I think that it will have some advantages like maybe quicker access to a person's medical history, treatments, ailments, medication, all that sort of shit.

But this is the biggest reason the shit is being pushed:

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Not surprisingly, nationwide adoption of Electronic Medical Records is being pushed hardest by those who would profit financially from it.
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I would like to see a list - because I know there is one, of the special interests lining ubama's pockets.

Let me ask this though; it is going to give us better care, how exactly:

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EMR (Electronic Medical Records) has the potential to greatly increase insurance company denials of the tests and treatments that doctors order. In the old days, the tests we ordered were done first - though bills for them might not get paid. Now when findings aren't bad enough to "justify" expensive tests or treatments, (according to sources chosen by - you guessed it - insurance companies) the computer tells everyone, immediately, "you're going to eat this." Might this eliminate unnecessary testing and save money? Sure. But who determines what is necessary? Who should a patient trust to make her medical decisions? Can the government or an insurance company be as good an advocate as her doctor?

Doctors live with denials, some of them dangerous. I've ordered MRI's on hospitalized patients that somehow never got done, physical therapy and medication never delivered, because of "unmet requirements" picked up when codes are scanned. When the white blood count isn't high enough to "justify" the hospitalization for IV antibiotics, the physician whose judgment says "this patient is sick and belongs in the hospital" is told his services as well as the hospitalization will not be paid for. When a doctor is convinced a test or treatment is needed, (and his patient doesn't have the money to pay for it) he has just two choices: wait for the patient to get sick enough to "justify" what he wants, or join the game - and lie about how sick he is. It's just a matter of clicking a different item on a pull down menu.
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The worst of it though, is that it's just one more tool for Big Brother to monitor his minions.





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