If so, then they will have a worthless database, won’t they?
If a physician tries to use that database to determine the past medical history of a patient, he will be endangering the patient or, at the least, treating for something fictitious. What about cases where overzealous practitioners, practicing defensive medicine, prescribe more than two different drugs, causing an insurer (even if that is the government), to conclude this person is higher risk than they actually are? Today, someone receiving 3 different medications will be turned down for coverage or charged a higher premium.
This happened to my husband. It took a long session with his physician to get the record corrected and then it took 3 years for the insurance company to change their risk assessment. (Two meds prescribed for high BP/one med caused a side effect/a third med was prescribed to treat the side effect. The patient wasn’t even taking the third med for more than a week, but there it was, on the chart forever). Had he been forced to change physicians, he would have been listed as having a condition he only had for a short time due to over-prescribing. Finally, the offending med was reduced by half and that is what solved the problem.
I think you were being bitter, but the lack of concern for this sort of thing (and the example I cited was minor as it didn’t imperil life) is horrendous, IMO. Control based on error with slavish adherence to the *record* . Lord help us all.
Then there are the PC issues that occur when a physician thoughtlessly writes down *fat* or something similar as their subjective observation and can be sued for defamation. Who owns those records?
I guess I hope they cannot accomplish this quickly just because we are old enough that if they can’t, we will be spared the consequences.
So what?
None of this - NONE - has anything to do with what's good for patients.