New York Times OP–ED | 5.3.04
By NEWT GINGRICH and PATRICK KENNEDY
One quote says it all, “The 21st–century health care system is using a 19th–century paperwork system.”
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
He forgot to add:
To manage a 20th century problem.
The problem: Involvement of government and the legal system in medical care. Until these meddlings, a simple office visit could be dispensed with in a line or 2, handwritten. An operative report for a routine procedure might have been a dozen lines. The patient paid when he left the office, or later received a bill that said, “For professional services…$XXX.
Medical records are now exploded into inch thick documents for a two day hospital stay, 2 single spaced typed pages for an ofice visit. Multiple vendors are out there to sell you a million dollar EMR to “simplify” record keeping. 5 or 6 figure computer systems just to be able to send out a bill. Everything has a 5 digit procedure code and a 5 digit diagnosis code.
Does anyone out there think that any of this is necessary to take care of the sick folks? No, it's necessary to take care of the lawyers, consultants, and bureaucrats who have latched onto the medical care system, sucking it dry like parasites.
He forgot to add:
To manage a 20th century problem.
The problem: Involvement of government and the legal system in medical care. Until these meddlings, a simple office visit could be dispensed with in a line or 2, handwritten. An operative report for a routine procedure might have been a dozen lines. The patient paid when he left the office, or later received a bill that said, “For professional services…$XXX.
Medical records are now exploded into inch thick documents for a two day hospital stay, 2 single spaced typed pages for an ofice visit. Multiple vendors are out there to sell you a million dollar EMR to “simplify” record keeping. 5 or 6 figure computer systems just to be able to send out a bill. Everything has a 5 digit procedure code and a 5 digit diagnosis code.
Does anyone out there think that any of this is necessary to take care of the sick folks? No, it’s necessary to take care of the lawyers, consultants, and bureaucrats who have latched onto the medical care system, sucking it dry like parasites.