This might--might--be a very good idea: "U.S. Will Offer Doctors Free Electronic Records System".

Comments

[David Foster]

I agree...it *might* be a good idea, and I'm glad to see this kind of entrepreneurship in the government..but a couple of concerns. First, giving away a product like this may discourage companies from investing in higher-function products. It's hard to compete with "free," even if you product is better. Second, a big part of the cost of information systems, especially in smaller enterprises, is the cost of support...free software does nothing to address this and may even make support more expensive, since the support provider can't assume that he's making any cost reductions up in software sales. Finally, they are going to have to package this product from a marketing standpoint in a manner that emphasizes function rather than the internals of the technology, if they want it to appeal to 90% of the healthcare population.

[Jake]

A better idea is for the government to dictate an electronic data interchange standard and requires that all claims be submitted electronically.

Fortune 500 companies forced electronic data interchange on all companies 15 years ago. The resulting computerization is one of our engines of growth.

The doctors can buy the software that best fits their needs and provides electronic claim submission. If doctors cannot afford it-tough. They should get out of the medical profession or go to work for medical organizations that can afford computerization.

Society can no long afford a major part of our economy being 25 years behind the times. It is too dangerous and too expensive.