Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A Political Message and Agenda

The final key to HIT adoption may lie with the beleagured physician (provider) as he attempts to deliver the best (healthcare), science based medicine to his patient (consumer).  The names and titles may change, but the challenges remain the same.

The simultaneous arrival of financial crisis, healthcare crisis, ARRA, and Health Information Technology adoption seems to be the 'perfect storm' for political meddling with medical care.

This statement appears at the introduction of the 'HIT Certification Course" sponsored by an unamed group using the term HIT Certification and a web site   'healthitcertification.com '

The web site does have a contact us link.  There appear to be many pundits or 'experts' on healthcare policy', a few physicians, and lots of titles listed as: faculty and advisors.

In it's opening statements, I quote:

"While some would have approached the current recession in a different manner, President Obama reflects upon the activities that helped spur growth after the Great Depression of the 1930s with spending for jobs that will modernize aging infrastructure and hopefully restore the middle class way of life in the U.S."

Accompanying this statement is the following illustration

image

I don't quite get the association between FDR and HIT. Is there a not so hidden agenda with this connection?  How can anyone cast negative aspersions on a program associated with FDR, the defeat of Nazi Germany, The Japanese Empire, The New Deal, Social Security, and all while sitting in a wheel chair and smoking cigarettes with a cigarette holder?? I am not certain however he would authorize his likeness in support of Obama's opportunism in regard to health care.  Create chaos and dysfunction and jump into unravel the mess.

I took some of my valuable patient time to read through some of the certification courses (offered free as a bait for the 'real course' which participants pay mightly to register.

It struck me as peculiar that a federal program would require 'consultants' physicians, and others to take a course which they must pay  for to obtain information regarding federal funding.  Why would the government even allow this, when they are funding billions of dollars to develop the training and infrastructure. (This is all nicely outlined in ARRA and HITECH)

So, all of you who have money to burn....go ahead, and throw some at me.

I'd rather be seeing patients. (especially without an EMR).But then again, I am rapidly becoming obsolete (and fossilized).

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