"Draining the swamp" in D.C.
Government Regulations in Medicine:
I recently read a note on a website for medical software that gave me the idea for this post on government regulations in medicine. A doctor was asking if there was a way of electronically capturing a patient's signature with the electronic visit note. It seems that Medicaid requires both the doctor's note and the patient's signature stating that he was present during the exam. I had to laugh, some bureaucrat thought that more paperwork would solve medical insurance fraud. It hit home -- I had been signing duplicative government-mandated forms for most of the day ... as usual. It's another example of misguided government regulations meddling in medicine.
The Presidential election is (thankfully) over. Whichever candidate you supported, you probably agree, as do most Americans, that there is something seriously wrong in Washington D.C. Many have a general sense of unease about economic security; America's one-step-slow approach to world events; and divisive trends in American society with no cohesive action by national leaders. In the world of medicine, we physicians are getting pretty fed up with inept federal tinkering with medical care as well.
Government regulations in medicine have added hours upon hours of red tape and extra work, often to patients' detriment.
It's not a partisan issue; the George Bush years brought us the Medicare drug plan with the now infamous "donut hole" and expansion of electronic record-keeping. In 2009, President Obama signed the HITECH Act, which mandated electronic medical records. After spending billions, doctors now spend so much time facing computer screens that patients are feeling ignored. And of course, the Affordable Care Act (ACA or "Obamacare") passed in March 2010 without a single vote by the minority Republicans. It was doomed to become a political football, despite the merits of providing health care to millions. In addition, the ACA features poorly conceived design with huge deductibles, rising premiums for both Obamacare and employer supported insurance plans and spiraling administrative costs.
I have an earlier blog post about the controversy surrounding electronic medical records, so I won't repeat that here. Likewise, new physician payment models have become law since I wrote this post. I fear that deleterious effects on patient care may soon follow these haphazard government regulations in medicine. The triple threat of government meddling continues to be untried programs, uncertain results & heavy paperwork burdens for doctors.
Most doctors aren't very fond of anyone in Washington; we've gotten a raw deal from both sides of the aisle. It's about time that patients and their doctors were asked about what is needed, and listened to. I've never been contacted, or had a response from any one of our elected officials in DC, except to ask for a contribution.
If any of you with shovels & buckets would like to meet me in front of the Health & Human Services building at 200 Independence Avenue in DC, I think we could begin the process of "draining the swamp". Speaking symbolically of course, in case the NSA is reading this post.
