Technology has it good points, but many
in the medical profession refuse to make use of the technology.
Having been burnt by the electronic medical records and how it has
damaged doctor-patient relations, I can have some sympathy, but not
much. What scares me is that most doctors refuse to use emails,
except for personal family correspondence.
Why is the question I keep asking? Not
a doctor will answer me. The Office if the National Coordinator for
Health Information Technology says that within the next decade, “all
individuals, their families, and care providers should be able to
send, receive, find, and use health information in a manner that is
appropriate, secure, timely, and reliable.”
Secure will depend on what the government wants and if they
will rein in the NSA.
Forget about the lame excuses offered
by government and the medical professions, email communication will
soon happen as more patients start demanding this and more medical
professionals start realizing the advantages. The medical
professions may need a few solid and well-placed kicks where they sit
to convince them, but even many of the doctors using contract
medicine are already reaping the benefits of secure email and
reducing the office visits.
Money is the great roadblock and is the
cause of the providers' reluctance to adopt email in their practices.
Nearly one million doctors rely on Medicare reimbursement and
Medicare presently will not pay for emails or e visits. The American
Medical Association rescinded its 1994 prohibition on rendering
clinical telemedicine services and should be adequately compensated
for email consultation. Privacy and security concerns are another
reason providers have snubbed email. And who can blame them?
Anxiety over the possibility of a HIPAA breach has escalated to a
level of hysteria.
About half of Americans’ and
Canadians’ 600 million annual primary care visits could be
transacted online instead of face to face. Fees for e-visits range
from $35 to $75 out of pocket, but can be as little as $15 with an
insurance copay. Congress is considering legislation intended to
shore up Medicare’s telehealth payment infrastructure. In addition,
Medicaid programs cover electronic messaging in a wider variety of
platforms and circumstances than Medicare does, and private payers
must match that coverage in 19 states and in the District of
Columbia.
There is much that needs to be improved
and roadblocks removed, but don't expect this to happen anytime soon.
More people are needed to write their Congressional people and
encourage them to wrap Medicare into the positive column.
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