patrick.net

Actually I have been trying for months to log in to Kaisers medical records system and it has been an exercise in frustration. My niece who is very computer savy, was able to log in only with some considerable effort. Once you get into the system it apparently works quite well but good luck logging into it.

Apparently all you have to do is go to these people's garage...

elliemae says

Apparently all you have to do is go to these people's garage...

Or Pakistan. A lot of work involving medical records is outsourced to Pakistan, and reported breaches of security even include extortion. I don't know what was on Osama's computer in Abbottabad, but it might easily have included many Americans' medical records.

And, this will get worse with Obamacare. Everyone will be required to apply for insurance. The official "exchanges" aren't online yet, but current insurance applications demand all kinds of personal medical information. The usual use of this data is for marketing, e.g. pharmacies sell customer data to PhRMA, but there are other possibilities and now everyone is required to surrender their information to the corporate overlords that brought us Obamacare.

Actually, the law is that all medical providers such as hospices, home health, hospitals, rehabs, pharmacies, etc must go electronic. Really has nothing to do with health care reform.

elliemae says

Actually, the law is that all medical providers such as hospices, home health, hospitals, rehabs, pharmacies, etc must go electronic. Really has nothing to do with health care reform.

I don't understand how those two sentences fit together.

Obamacare mandates the electronic records, so the two are connected. Obamacare also requires everyone into the system. So, people who previously lived off the grid, or nearly, may now be required by Obamacare to enter all their personal medical information into the mandatory electronic records. Those records can then end up in someone's garage, or Pakistan.

I have no problem understanding what electronic medical records should be required - this has enormous potential to improve the quality of care, lower the cost of care and contribute to research. My complaint is simply that Kaiser has failed to develope a user friendly system for members to log into the system. Judging from this incident, the difficulty members have logging in to their system has nothing to do with any actual security concern but is just a case of poor management.

elliemae says

Actually, the law is that all medical providers such as hospices, home health, hospitals, rehabs, pharmacies, etc must go electronic. Really has nothing to do with health care reform.

It was created to drive the old fashioned country doctors that actually cared about their patients and their community out of practice.
My Brother in law's father had a practice in Queens, when Clinton made huge changes to electronic submission it created a huge burden on him. He retired the next year, he didn't have the funds or resources to be compliant. Not in a practice where his average bill was $50.00.
He also died of a Heart attack a few months after he closed practice.

I meant that healthcare was going electronic before President Obama took office. Can't blame everything on the healthcare reform he helped pass.

MD's are getting grants to help offset the cost of electronic records. CaptainShuddup says

It was created to drive the old fashioned country doctors that actually cared about their patients and their community out of practice.

Not really, these practitioners have been going out of business for quite some time. It's odd that the system has told them what they can bill, and they can't bill less if they want to .

elliemae says

healthcare was going electronic before President Obama took office. Can't blame everything on the healthcare reform he helped pass. [Solo] practitioners have been going out of business for quite some time.

True, but Obamacare accelerates the process. A decade ago, more than 70% of doctors worked independently or in small physician-owned practice groups. Today, more than 70% work for hospitals and corporate practice groups. The legislation was driven by and for the biggest special interests, i.e. PhRMA, hospitals, AMA (which represents only 10% of doctors), AHIP.