Pens, Clipboards... Leeches anyone?
Newt Gingrich penned -- or maybe used a computer to write -- this damning piece about how horribly behind the health care industry is in the area of information technology. Unbelievable.
Every major industry has taken advantage of the information revolution— except health care. It is a 1950s model of administration, epitomized by a ballpoint pen, a clipboard, and rows and rows of paper medical records. This backwardness undermines both the quality and efficiency of care.
The Institute of Medicine has reported that preventable medical errors kill up to 98,000 Americans every year, and medication errors alone make another 1.5 million Americans sick. Since 2000, American workers have seen an 87 percent increase in premiums—a rate four times faster than the growth of wages over the same period.
Those numbers are staggering. Aside from the life-threatening error reductions, can you imagine the cost savings with increased efficiency due to automatic data retrieval? Newt concludes:
The migration to a modernized, interconnected health care system is inevitable. We can see doctors, hospitals, and other providers investing in new technology every day. But we must accelerate the process. Taxpayers, employers, and their employees cannot afford to carry our broken system for much longer. Too many lives are lost and too much money is wasted by tolerating an obsolete and antiquated system. Health information technology, combined with consumer engagement, is a powerful formula that can tear down the old order and create a better health system. And to get there, we need continued bold leadership—from every stakeholder in health care.
You've got to read the whole thing. I had no idea health care was this far behind. I've heard of union local offices with hundreds of workers and without one computer, but their troglodytism doesn't surprise me as much. It would seem to me that we can't seriously talk about a so-called "reform" of the health care industry until the thing is built properly. Then an IT strategy would seem to be the first perscription to get it healthy.
hello! i'm from spain i found your blog because the title is in latín Do you like Latín?¿
ReplyDeletebye!
Sorry if my inglish isn't good...
ups! English...jeje
ReplyDeleteSi. But I am a "beginner" at it. I was in a Latin choir so I am familiar with many Psalm verses in Latin and Gregorian chants. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDelete(is jeje Spanish for ha-ha?)
Sound like a business opportunity to me. It will require a universal health care number.
ReplyDeletecube, you funny
ReplyDeleteIn order to pull it off each patient will need a unique identifier. The record has to follow the patient as they move through space and time.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is who generates the unique ID. Should it be the government, or entities like Kaiser, Blue Cross etc. Or even a business who offers to maintain patient medical data. When I say Unique ID, I don't mean that the government is the ultimate provider in this case. They simply generate the unique id. It could be provied at birth for example with the SS#.
As far as the guvment managing the actual medical records system. Forget it--A solution certain to fall still born from the web server. They are only good for generating the unique id. It doesn't even have to be a health id . It can be your universal identification number. I hope that is not to mark-o-beast for you.