Patient charts and all of the medical records will be compiled in an 8 to 16 G software device that can be carried by the patient in the pocket or a key chain and remain under his/her control. We can call this device the E-Record. The current plan being proposed by the President for nationalized electronic health records will result in a dangerous invasion of patient privacy since any government agencies, insurance companies, and other health-related organizations will have access to these records at the tip of their finger.
The E-Record will be protected by a password. The patient will own, control, and keep his/her E-Records in possession at all times. Patient will decide who can access the records. Only a licensed healthcare provider with a digital ID can enter the E-Record so that system can track anyone accessing the information. The E-Record will contain information including Doctor’s notes, actual X-Ray images, lab results, hospital records, etc, and, thus, will prevent unnecessary repetition of the tests and many other services, saving billions of dollars.
Patients, demographics, and insurance information will be easily accessible with this new system. This feature is designed so that the patient can reach his/her doctor or nurse, make an appointment, or get the service he needs bypassing the phone tags and other complicated ‘check in’ procedures. It will save a large amount of money for the hospitals and physicians’ offices. It will also decrease frustrations and the time the patient has to spend in this process.
This method will reduce the overhead cost for Doctor’s offices and Hospitals and subsequently we can demand reduction in our bill also. Why pay 40 to 50 % excess cost to the system each time we have a sore throat or bruised elbow? Everybody wins in this, especially the patient.
Now here is the kicker. Many politicians, insurance companies and other interest groups will oppose this idea with a number of scare tactics because this way we the people will be in control and not them. The reality is that, the technology exists today to implement this system, and if all Americans stand together we can make it happen.
