Remember the debates leading up to the passage of Obamacare? Among the many unicorns sold to us about how ObamaCare would save money was the rapid implementation of “Electronic Medical Records.” This administration, based of course wholly on uncorrupted scientific evidence for everything they do, was heavily influenced by a 2005 RAND study which claimed that implementing EMR would save Americans billions of dollars (about $80 billion per year). So of course, the President and the planners in DC decided to toss $20 billion over two years, to begin implementing them.
And what do you think happened?
Even the New York Times admits that this has not saved money. At all. This in large part because EMR make it easier for providers to bill us for more stuff. The article also indicates that EMR are prone to … more errors. But that should not have surprised anyone. The folks over at NCPA report the following from the Times article:
RAND’s 2005 report was paid for by a group of companies, including General Electric and Cerner Corporation, that have profited by developing and selling electronic records systems to hospitals and physician practices. Cerner’s revenue has nearly tripled since the report was released, to a projected $3 billion in 2013, from $1 billion in 2005.
They don’t call them Government Electric for no reason. And you should see how involved GE is with the development of Wind. That’s sure to save taxpayers billions too, and prevent lots of emissions too, right?
Government by the corporations, of the corporations and for the corporations – and brought to you by the Commander in Speech himself. Have a nice life.
One element of this program was to make the coding of everything diagnosed and done medically vastly more complicated. Thus (I am making these details up) a sprained ankle code 123 becomes a sprained ankle while riding a dude ranch horse, code 12346, as opposed to riding a racehorse in a claiming race, code 12355.
Imagine the cost of training all those people to learn that new system, which include not just everyone in the doctor’s office and the hospital, but also the legions of nurse reviewers working on behalf of the private and government insurance system, including new hires.
Then, with all this information, how many New Jobs will this “create” and for what purpose? Will Big Brother deny payment for the overweight fat cat at the dude ranch, or the jockey? What if the personal injury lawyers going to do with this, and what does it cost to prepare their expert witnesses for deposition?
And what is the code for the doctor asking if you have ever smoked, again, or now, if you own a gun?
Maybe if you do not own a gun, the doctor may be authorized to order a testosterone test, and depending on the decision of the Death Panel, might prescribe long-term generic pills. Or if you do own a gun, maybe he will refer you to a shrink, and have you sign a paper that might get him off the hook if you shoot yourself in the ankle (code 12359-sa).
In the meantime, when is the last time have you read a piece about medical savings accounts and high-deductible catastrophic coverage?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/opinion/amgen-gets-a-gift-from-congress.html?hp&_r=0
It is frightening that GE is a big player in selling these systems.
Many people think that Jeff Immelt have special powers to make wise decisions. I learned some time ago that they put on their pants in the morning, same as you and me, and that often they have no idea what is going on in their vast empire. The good chiefs recognize their limitations. The bad ones conspire with the government, knowing that the party will last beyond the time they are buried.
Had this all have happened during the Carter Administration, GE would have set up a system using COBOL or BASIC , and the installation contract would have been cost-plus with an inflation clause.