Healthcare Engineering

I think they're pulling the wool over your eyes and that many hospital staffs are managed by the age group of which is not computer literate and they are bulking at incorporating computer usage because they don't understand.

It is just all fallacy! A lot of patient care related improvement can be attained / achieved by doing other meaningful things and having an EHR system in place is not one of them! Beside being not cost effective and very expensive, it really does not improve patient safety. Most of the time it only hinders the timeliness and delivery of needed patient care. The only positive thing an EHR system may contribute to patient care, in a properly configured setup is the automatic retrieval of pertinent patient clinical data. And that is a very big IF on the configuration setup! A very cost prohibitive features that only a few major hospital can readily afford. In reality it is more of a nuisance to the endusers. Most often hospitals that has the EHR system in place, just use it for advertisements - a selling features for the institution!

It steps on doctor patient privilege. The doctor knows that typing any information into a local server with in a clinic is stretching this legal concept. A least he knows the people he works with that have access to the information. In a system where all these are connected. Too many unknown people have access to information that he is only suppose to know. Since anything a government get it's hands on becomes corrupted. It will not be long before the information is sold on the street.

Many of the companies we use to provide services like life and auto insurance would like to have some of this information.

Even law enforcement would be jumping to get it. They would be able to sit and watch anyone that tested positive for some sort of drug use during a routine physical.

Sure it would be a great help to mankind if these records where available to people that only have good intentions in their use. Look around you do you feel that we are there yet?

Just the simple things like someone turning over a list of all the expectant women to one of the disposable diaper companies so they can send you coupons for their product. Not very harmful miss use you could say. What about the psychological effect on a woman that miscarriages and is reminded after the fact upon receiving these coupons.

I am with the doctors on this one until they can insure total anonymity of the patients.

this may sound like another conspricy. But eventually EHR will be used by the insurance company's. Government mandates....or I should say reqiurements are not alway for the best interests of the people, but the lobbist$.

I tend to agree with you on that Mr. Phoenix911! Most benefits now realized by those institutions that have an EHR system in place are achieved through their service advertisements, accessibility and ease of patient billings, ease in filing insurance claims with much bigger reimbursements. Even patients requesting to have their own medical records still has to pay or are being billed to get their own medical history copy! The portability part of the EHR as an integral component of the law are also being used as another income or revenue source by those hospitals! As always, it is the patient who most of the times getting the short end of the stick!

every time you go to the doctor you have to sign the release form of your records. Which started about 10 years ago.

Yes that is an accepted norm, adapted and practiced throughout by any practitioner! It is meant to cover their behind, for their own (MDs) protection in case of a lawsuit when they get sued, in conjunction with the confidentiality requirements of the law..