Insurance in the News
Electronic Medical Records vs. Charts
The advent of the computer has brought about many advantages but have you ever stopped to think about the disadvantages and how technological advances are making a difference in your health care? The subject of Electronic Medical Records has doctors (and patients) talking!
With the new health care reform laws, Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are set to be implemented by 2015. If doctor’s offices are not compliant they will face fines.
There are, of course, federal grant incentives for physician’s to bite the bullet and make the investment now. The investment being software, equipment, consultants, and training; which is going to be costly. Some physicians are of the mind-set that it won’t matter since they are planning on retiring before the deadline arrives, others are contemplating retiring early to avoid the perceived “hassle of the transition.”
The broad issue of EMR’s involves so much more than simply entering patient information via a keyboard. Experts from the medical industry, health insurance industry, government, and private enterprise are already pondering the need for a national database. The basis of the dilemma is overcoming the technological and regulatory barriers in creating one.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) is very far-reaching, as it stands and is currently cumbersome in transferring health records from one hospital to another. Other obstacles in creating a national centralized database is the fact that not all computers can communicate with one another and patient record numbers vary from facility to facility.
Ultimately, there is the question of who owns a patient’s medical records and who may have access to them? No matter what side of the political aisle you are on concerning the new health reform laws, they will take effect and these will become mainstream media health care news stories. Gone will be the days of a physical “medical chart.”
