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It's not a good thing to give doctors your private info such as SSN and DL number and real birth date. I think I will make things up from now on so they cannot compile data on me. The government will use it against us at some point. THat's the plan.
I live in a rural area and the doctors here went electronic years ago. I don't know of any doctors who have paper files still.
I can't myself. I must share a story. About four weeks ago, my wife and I were both at the office of a man who is an opthamologist. We have both been his patients. Almost twenty years ago, he did RK on my eyes to correct nearsightedness. After he finished examining my wife, he sat down and began charting on paper. I made a little joke about "all doctors using electronic records these days". He just chuckled and told me he didn't know how, but an assistant would enter all this into the computer later.
So, I sat there watching this man in his sixties write his notes on paper. I reflected on the fact that all of us had grown old. He's about ten years older than my wife and I and I realize his retirement could not be far off. There was something very poignant about that moment. The world changes. My generation, the baby boomers, have seen so much change.
I can't myself. I must share a story. About four weeks ago, my wife and I were both at the office of a man who is an opthamologist. We have both been his patients. Almost twenty years ago, he did RK on my eyes to correct nearsightedness. After he finished examining my wife, he sat down and began charting on paper. I made a little joke about "all doctors using electronic records these days". He just chuckled and told me he didn't know how, but an assistant would enter all this into the computer later.
So, I sat there watching this man in his sixties write his notes on paper. I reflected on the fact that all of us had grown old. He's about ten years older than my wife and I and I realize his retirement could not be far off. There was something very poignant about that moment. The world changes. My generation, the baby boomers, have seen so much change.
Your story perfectly illustrates the problem with electronic records. They are so inefficient to use for charting actual medically useful information that a whole new job description has been invented to cope with them: the scribe.
That should not be necessary.
If there were an EHR that functioned like a paper chart, doctors would love them. However, the people who write the software have not got a clue about what a physician actually needs to document in order to take care of a patient. Not to generate data for insurance companies - or the government - but to provide medical care.
We can do our taxes with Quicken or similar software. The program stores tons of data and is easy to use. Costs only a few bucks.
I use a software program for my genealogy research. Costs $25 this month, on sale for the holidays. It stores tons of data, which I can easily share with other researchers, even if they use a different software program. It's intuitive: I learned to use it by just using it.
EHRs for office practices cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, require expensive updates, are not intuitive, and for many practices reduce efficiency (hence the need to hire a scribe.) If the EHR vendor goes out of business, that's bad news.
There should be no need for an EHR to be so expensive or so hard to use.
One doc on another board described the tax money being spent on EHRs as "cash for clunkers." Another described a feature of his EHR that allowed him to confirm that he asked about new allergies at each visit. Only problem was that the button he needed to click was not on the page about allergies: it took ten clicks to get there.
Not "many" offices use paper charts anymore those that still do are outliers not the norm...
According to CDC 78% of practices now use some form of electronic record.
Tell me, in large health system that ONLY has an electronic record as in MOST practices what is the alternative to "keeping the record in an electronic format"???
Chicken scratchings on a paper napkin perhaps???
There is NO alternative, it is electronic or nothing and nothing is NOT an option...so YES my license is in fact dependent on keeping the record in an electronic format.
Bottom line you can't "opt out" of an electronic medical record if you are seeing a provider that uses only an electronic record which is the majority of providers in this country.
My internist (who is not an old fogey) uses paper charts.
You may not want to use a paper chart, since you have the EMR, but I would like to see the regulation that says you could lose your license if you use both paper and electronic records.
This is a few years old, but things have not gotten better. The comments are illuminating:
Here are some articles that talk about the "Grants", "Incentives" and the "penalties" associated with Electronic Medical Records. The government wants this so bad that they are attaching money to it. They have a plan for all these records. Just wait and see.
. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the federal stimulus bill, includes bonuses for doctors and hospitals that achieve “meaningful use†of electronic records with Medicare and Medicaid patients. Failure to meet the federal goals with Medicare patients triggers penalties. For doctors, the maximum federal incentive for electronic records is $44,000 under Medicare and $63,750 under Medicaid. Failure to use achieve “meaningful use†targets triggers penalties in 2015. The penalties start with a 1 percent reimbursement reduction in the first year, and increase to 5 percent over time.
I have to have a physical at least every 2 years for my job. I have a CDL and have been doing the physical they require. Due to what I drive and the fact that I do not cross the state line I am not required to have the CDL physical and can use a different form that is accepted by my state who is my employer.
I went to a new doctor that I had never seen before this past spring for my CDL physical. I listed no medications and did not provide a lot of information on the forms they handed me at the front desk. I had to pay cash since doctors won't use the insurance benefit for a CDL and can make extra money by doing so.
In such a case, other than truthful information on the CDL form only, what other purpose would this doctor need my medical information on file for? I may never see her again.
My internist (who is not an old fogey) uses paper charts.
You may not want to use a paper chart, since you have the EMR, but I would like to see the regulation that says you could lose your license if you use both paper and electronic records.
This is a few years old, but things have not gotten better. The comments are illuminating:
Well then your anecdotal evidence trumps all evidence to the contrary right??? Your internist is an outlier old fogey or not..
What part of my medical practice ONLY HAS AN EMR do you not understand??? I cannot unilaterally decide to keep paper charts on my own!!!
Maintaining my license requires use of the EMR PERIOD!!! So it does not matter what the "regulation" states, there is no alternative to electronic notes...
You don't practice medicine, you have no first hand knowledge of EMRs, you can cite all the internet searches regarding physician dissatisfaction with EMRs, doesn't change the fact that they are here to stay
I have been seeing patients since 1994, every practice I have worked in since that time has used an EMR, they are hardly new. If your internist is still using paper charts he is well behind the curve.
You misunderstood. The OP had said he would just make up a name/address and lie about who he was. I answered that he could do that so long as he paid cash. However, upon further reflection, since all doctors/clinics want a copy of your driver's license, I don't think that would actually work.
No, you misunderstood
This is the OP
"I recall it being said that we could opt out of having our medical records kept or compiled electronically in a data base. Has anyone done this and how do you go about it? Or is this like the "if you like your doctor, your can keep your doctor" line?"
And this is the post of yours I was responding to regarding the OP
"You can lie if you can pay cash each and every time. Very simple to opt out, really."
But you can't "opt out", method of payment has nothing to do with "opting out" of EMR, it isn't a choice a patient can make in a practice that uses an EMR
...In such a case, other than truthful information on the CDL form only, what other purpose would this doctor need my medical information on file for? I may never see her again.
Being as you drive for a living, you probably realize that as vehicles get "more mileage on them", some of the parts start to go out. It is handy for the mechanic to have a maintenance record of the vehicle.
Same with people. As we get older, it is handy sometimes to have records of past lab, blood, and urine tests. Along with other tests which have been done as we get older - heart tests, eye tests, liver function tests, etc.
One biggie is Type II diabetes, blood sugar levels, and fatty liver disease. Quite handy to keep an eye on that stuff for all those overweight Americans out there and know past results of tests.
That is for YOU and getting the best health care based on your current and past test results.
So at least DO request and keep printed records of any tests you get. (Also immunizations, tetanus/flu shots, etc.)
You may be a "newer vehicle" now, but as you put on "more miles", things tend to go out!
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Incentives to providers for EMR
