Posted on 12/09/2014 6:24:46 AM PST by upchuck
Along with the primary goal of expanding the availability of health insurance, the Affordable Care Act aims to make the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) universal. This plan actually began with the 2009 stimulus (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), which included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Doctors and other health providers have been offered incentives to convert patient information and health histories to a compatible and transferable electronic format, and as of June 2014, 75 percent of eligible doctors and 92 percent of eligible hospitals had received payments under the program.
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020, which details the efforts of some 35 departments and agencies of the federal government and their roles in the plan to "advance the collection, sharing, and use of electronic health information to improve health care, individual and community health, and research." The plan is illustrated with the following graphic:
Each step of the plan includes three-year and six-year goals, and the various goals, depending on their focus, require the involvement of department and agencies as disparate as the Department of Defense, the Federal Trade Commission, and NASA, in addition to the expected participation of entities such as HHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Indian Health Service. The report includes a comprehensive list of all departments and agencies involved:
While Electronic Health Records (EHR) are the most visible example of the type of information the plan discusses, other technologies include "mobile and telehealth technology, cloud-based services,
medical devices, and remote monitoring devices, assistive technologies, and sensors." The plan stresses the importance of government in developing these technologies given its roles to "provide direct care and health insurance, protect public health, fund health and human services for certain populations, invest in infrastructure, develop and implement policies and regulations, and advance groundbreaking research."
Now that HHS has publicly released the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, the agency is seeking the input from the public before implementation. The plan is subject to two-month period of public comment before finalization. The comment period runs through February 6, 2015.
Wonder what the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and NASA plan to do with the fact that I have high blood pressure?
Microchips next? Or your government numbers tattooed on your wrists and ID’s on your clothing?
We can opt out right? Cause HIPAA protects our health data right?
My head is about to explode.
You think employers, lenders, insurers (etc) might get hold of this information?
Well!I guess my Private health care info is Private No more.
But don’t worry. Across all the agencies, all those servers, all those thousands of people with access to your personal identity and medical information ... your information will be protected. By the same people who can’t keep nuclear weapons technology and other critical defense secrets, well, secret. By the same people who in over 3 years could not set up a website that many companies like Google or Amazon would’ve knocked-out in 3 weeks. No, I’m not concerned at all. ;-/
Leave us alone, you Fed degenerates. What ever happen to privacy????????
We can resist microchips. And, yes, I think that’s coming.
IMHO, this plan is overreaching and will not be implemented as planned. The sharing part is the kicker. The gvt can barely keep healthcare.gov on the air and it’s not anywhere as ambitious as this latest plan.
Hopefully the public comment will be loud and strong.
Yikes! I knew it was bad but this is stunning.
I really don’t want my health information shared with anyone. If anything this will keep a lot of people away from health care.
People with the money to pay for it can and will pay for private off-the-record health care. Or they’ll travel abroad for undocumented health care. (Sort of like the old Swiss bank accounts).
The rest of us are database fodder.
I’m glad NASA knows I have hemorrhoids.
Microchips can be put in shots that you have no idea what they’re doing, don’t ya know?
Everyone must get their flu shots; not!
pfl
That is exactly right.
If you have the opportunity, do not give them the info they seek...NO to providing SS numbers, NO to letting them scan driver’s licenses.
The “its for our records..” or “Insurance requires it” or, I have even heard, “HIPPA requires it” JUST REFUSE. Do not let them photograph you. And do not feel you HAVE to answer their questions just because they ask.”Nunya” is acceptable as anything else.
Folks, your Drs. are the tip of their very sharp spear. And they are being paid handsomely to TURN YOU INTO digital fodder.
You have got to fight...I know its hard when you are hurting and bent over in pain to refuse but you must if you want to be free.
You will have to make choices that maybe you think are too difficult or time consuming to make. [Ex.: My dr REQUIRES my SS number to process blood work...I informed them ss#’s were not for identification and they smugly replied they were for tracking purposes. I refused and they refused to do my blood work: said I would have to go elsewhere...so I did. Yeah it was a little inconvenient...but it was inconvenient for them because they had to manually enter the info.]
I will not be badgered by researchers or anyone else without direct need to know my information.
If you do not stand up to them and refuse, then all is lost...Yeah we need an organization to fight for us collectively...but we have to fight individually.
Just my opine...and screw every pubbie who voted for that reinvestment act that started this crap.
And the chimps thought Obamacare was about insurance toss bait reel in.
news you can use..... Did you register as Republican? In that case you get screwed by these agencies. Get to the back of the line for your gall bladder operation. In back of the relatives of dialed in Democrat hacks and bureaucrats
There should be no agency that has your records let alone 35 and counting. All they should have is the medical condition being treated and not any name attached to it.
Big Brother is watching....
Bttt
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