… and having to make several stops beforehand to get charts, etc…..
Obama's big idea: Digital health records
President-elect wants to computerize the nation's health care records in five years. But the plan comes with a hefty price tag, and specialized labor is scarce.
Sadly needed, sadly overdue. And why should it be hard? We've digitized the Library of Congress (haven't we)? All court cases and records are digitized. What's the holdup with medical records?
In fact, many hurdles stand in the way. Only about 8% of the nation's 5,000 hospitals and 17% of its 800,000 physicians currently use the kind of common computerized record-keeping systems that Obama envisions for the whole nation.
Well, that's just ridiculous. Come on. It's the 21st century. My Mom should not be more technologically advanced in her record-keeping than hospitals!
And some experts say that serious concerns about patient privacy must be addressed first.
Of course. I wonder if there any other industries that have dealt with this in the past. Like, oh, banking.
Finally, the country suffers a dearth of skilled workers necessary to build and implement the necessary technology.
Now, that, I simply don't believe.