Paper, Technology, Waste and Healthcare
Technology has not reduced the amount of paper or wastefulness it should, especially in the health care industry. I rant about this and remember my old family doctor who was efficient and caring.
Duration : 0:16:23
[youtube I09W2ChhlfI]
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Thanks for dropping …
Thanks for dropping by. I agree with what you say. And Curt is the best
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
This was a …
This was a wonderful vlog. I also have fond memories of my family doctor. Simple kind man as yours was. I shy away from western medicine now for most of the reasons that you gave. I don’t believe everything can be cured by a pill. Common sense and true character can do more.
Enjoyed your story.
Came by this way from Ohcurt’
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
The key phrase …
The key phrase there is longer term. It can take 20,40,60 years to renew a forest, depending on how large you want the trees to get. It’s hard to get anyone to see past the next quarter.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
You have a point. …
You have a point. Healthcare is a component of the whole “nanny” system of life. If we took more responsibility for our own health… of course I’m not one to talk.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
It was pretty bad …
It was pretty bad for a couple years there. Eventually, on a whim, we tried out a VA clinic, which lead to them doing more specialized tests, finding out that his disability is tied to his exposure to Agent Orange in VietNam. Since then, the benefits have become quite nice, although we have to deal with specific doctors and clinics. It’s slowly getting easier but was a nightmare for a couple of years at first.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Administration – …
Administration – the root of which is ministrare, which means to serve. I guess Ad means crap, since that is what they serve
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
The private sector …
The private sector is bad enough, but when you add the government into the mix, it must be a nightmare. I hope your father gets the care he needs.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Could you send me …
Could you send me that in triplicate, please
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
I salvage pieces of …
I salvage pieces of paper from the trash at work for those few times when I use paper. And when I print I try to print on both sides. I just don’t use much paper, scrap or otherwise.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
I don’t think it is …
I don’t think it is possible to go back to the old way, and I support technology in principle. I just wish that in reforming health care that we would consider the spirit of the old family doctors and their patient-focused attitude and use the technology to relieve the administrative burden on providers. You’re probably right there was some under-represetation of the record, but it is surprising how comprehensive it is for such a small number of words.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
I type so much more …
I type so much more than I write by hand. I never even carry a pen anymore. I have to borrow one if I want to write.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
“total waste”, …
“total waste”, trees are a crop and they are certainly renewable (as evidenced by the modern lumber yards). The whole slash and burn thing was born out of corrupt selling of public land. After all it’s more profitable to get some under the table deal from a politician, cut down a forest and move on rather than planting / preserving the land yourself for longer term lumber sale.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
the non profit …
the non profit system in the Uk has the same problem . the Gps make the same regardless of how many patients they see , there is no profit motive . each person is just a number on a waiting list .
i think we rely on doctors too much , i think there should be a health revolution , only go to them when it’s absolutely necessary . JV
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
When I worked in …
When I worked in Informatics, I saw this all the time. It has mainly to do with the busted Insurance Scheme in the US. If we would really let Physicians do their job, things would be better.
The systems put in place by Cerner, Eclipsys, etc. have great potential, but the administrative restrictions kill any advances.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Good story and …
Good story and video.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Everything and …
Everything and everyone and everything that can happen to a person has a code. If the codes are not right the computer spits out the wrong result. If you have an insurance problem, ask what code stopped the process and what the code is for. Then get it reprocessed with the correct code.
Often codes will change and a doctor’s office will be using one set of codes while the insurance company will be using a different set of codes, or someone left a needed code out altogether. : P
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Brilliant video, my …
Brilliant video, my friend. My father has been sick about 4 years now and is getting benefits/insurance from the government due to an illness he obtained while fighting in VietNam. Dealing with the red tape and bureaucracy of doctors, insurance companies, AND the government in a health related issue is staggering to say the least.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
mikma was here
mikma was here
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
The sad truth is …
The sad truth is that this is Americans doing it to other Americans for a fast buck. Worse, it’s peoples’ healthcare that is played with, not some 3-card monty on the street.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
For the person …
For the person willing to write on the back of paper, they can get a mountain of “waste” paper to write on from people who have wastefully created junk faxes, or printed out pages with tiny errors on them. Indeed, I got through high school studying on the back of “waste” paper. To this day, I have a mountain of it from work that is created by junk faxes that come in on the fax machine daily and waste more paper than we’d like to see.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
The key to the old …
The key to the old way of care providing was that the Dr. knew you personally. The limited paperwork he sent you greatly under-represents your medical record…..most of it was in his head.
He knew your family history because he treated your parents. He genuinely understood your health because he took time to ask you as a person, not just as a patient. He didn’t need the paperwork because he and the system, didn’t charge so much.
Now that has all changed, and we are worse off because of it.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Seems like there’s …
Seems like there’s a lot of tests done “standard” that may not even be that helpful. And yes, a lot of the results are repeated needlessly.
Agreed. But with money, the banks have in place massive security. Easy for some doc istant to make a copy. It’s not just health info, it’s mainly identity theft. And companies getting the info to deny stuff. Course there’s a lot of cases of doc offices just tossing medical recs into a dumpster.
Profit means more then pretty much everything nowadays.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
I agree that the …
I agree that the heath care bureaucracy is shocking. I also had some simple tests a few months ago and the paperwork was simply outrageous.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Not exactly, and it …
Not exactly, and it wasn’t just mortgages. People were living on margin with insane amounts of loans. Then gas kept going up at several times the rate of inflation and they couldn’t pay the loans off.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Indeed, to say no …
Indeed, to say no regulation should exist is reckless, it’s just we’ve gone to the other extreme. And that’s not any better.