On eMRs Dangers and Expenses

Submitted by Darrell K. Prutt; DDS

Like communicable diseases that nobody wants to discuss; eMRs are dangerous, incredibly expensive and not worth having for free.  

A Fresh Look at eMRs

A couple of weeks ago, Hayward Zwerling, M.D. uncovered a fresh look at what makes current eMRs so lame, and clinically described the underlying problem in a blunt way that only a doctor with clinical experience can do. Dr. Zwerling’s informative comment on Boston.com is in response to Lisa Wangsness’ Jan. 1 article, “Letter highlights hurdles in digitizing health records.”  

We should have known that CCHIT would draw parasites for natural reasons.   

http://people.boston.com/articles/nation/?p=articlecomments&activityId=6778798549471809193

Dr. Hayward Zweling Speaks

Under the Federal Government’s direction, CCHIT has been given the task of promoting IT (information technology) within the health care industry. Approximately half of CCHIT’s Board of Directors work for medical insurance companies, commercial medical informatic companies, physicians employed by very large group practices or eMR companies. As a result, CCHIT’s priorities have been tailored to reflect the interests of it’s Board of Directors, rather than the needs of the physicians and the health interests of our society at large.

CCHIT Force

CCHIT is now attempting to coerce physicians to purchase specific, expensive and “CCHIT certified” electronic medical record programs, which are designed to collect medical information. This information is “quantified; ” thereby creating a huge repository of all US healthcare interactions. As 16% of the US GDP is spent on healthcare, the amount of information that will be stored in these databases is massive and will eventually be available (for sale) to third parties. One can logically conclude that those organizations that have access to this information will be able to exert a hugh influence on the future of US healthcare.

Enter the Non-CCHIT Vendors

There are now several hundred non-CCHIT certified eMRs on the market which provide low cost and innovative solutions that are not otherwise available to physicians. If CCHIT’s influence remains unchecked, many small eMR companies will be forced out of business. The end result will be extremely disruptive to small medical practices, while forcing them to adopt expensive and bloated software while creating a frighteningly comprehensive healthcare database.

Unique Position

As a practicing physician who also has more than 15 years experience incorporating IT into small medical practice, I am in a unique position to understand the needs of the healthcare community and the potential of health IT. I am a firm believer that the appropriate use of health IT can improve the quality of healthcare. However, it is my opinion that the Federal Government needs to force the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology to alter their priorities so that they mirror the needs of the the majority of the medical community, rather than the interests of CCHIT’s Board of Directors and their representative companies. This can only be accomplished by replacing CCHIT’s Board of Directors, who has a financial interest in the health information technology industry, with people who have no financial connection to the medical-health IT-pharmaceutical industrial complex.

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

In President Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, he said ” … we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence … by the military-industrial complex … Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery … so that … liberty may prosper …”

The size of US’s medical-health IT-pharmaceutical industrial complex now rivals the size of its’ military-industrial complex and the parallel between the two industries is too obvious to be discounted. If we choose to ignore this historical precedent, then the future of healthcare in the USA will be controlled by several powerful industries, whose priorities do not necessarily parallel the health interests of our society. And once these industries take control of the health industry, their political influence will ensure that they will remain in control for many decades into the future.

Hayward Zwerling; MD, FACP, FACE

President, ComChart Medical Software

The Lowell Diabetes & Endocrine Center

Information Resources, LLC, Denver, Colorado

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Research & Development | Tagged: CCHIT, ComChart Medical Software, EHRs, EMRs, Hayward Zwerling, HIT, IT | 13 Comments »