Re: Controversy Over Medical Records Legislation (fwd)

[James Love <love@tap.org>]

>From Scott Armstrong.
jamie


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 22:21:56 -0500 (EST)
From: Scott Armstrong <sarmst@cni.org>
To: love@Essential.ORG
Cc: sarmst@cni.org
Subject: Re: Controversy Over Medical Records Legislation

Jamie,

I haven't seen the bill but I have to tell you that when I was lookiong at massive medicare/medicaid fraud and insurance company overbilling/underpaying the frustration was the inability to get data or to use computers to search for variations from the norm.  Can't technology be used to screen the identity of the patient.  I think with out some program which aggregates billing and medical data, Aetna and the AMA will bankrupt us all.  Can't we find a way to work with the technology to overcome the legitimate privacy objections?  Isn't this a case where the philosophical objections to data collection (ie. minus identifying patient information) are luxuries which will bankrupt those most affected, the poor and the elderly.  We make exceptions to paper record privacy all the time to allow prosecution of predatory actors.  Can't we find a way to help rahter than hinder the pursuit of the bad guys here?

Scott Armstrong
sarmst@cni.org
(202) 354 1100
The Information Trust

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