Obama, Health Care and a Focus on Efficiency

Health care costs have increased, Americans have protested, and President Barack Obama has taken notice. President Obama's plan is simple: reduce the amount of paper and increase electronic information sharing.

Here's how Obama's plan works: Medical facilities turn paper-based records into electronic documents and share them with each other, papers used are re-written to be simplified and easier to use, and insurance companies are to participate in a nationwide exchange.

To see the full plan, visit the following URL: http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf

A paperless office is relatively easy to set up, and President Obama pushing for the modernization of America's medical paperwork. It works this way: workers scan patient documents and shred the originals while using software to generate electronic documents for any new patient information. Essentially, a giant database of patient records houses all records, enabling hospital workers to use any piece of information from anywhere in the hospital. Emergency Room departments no longer have to wait for someone to trek through mountains of paper in order to catch the fine print on a patient's medical conditions, either; doctors can use the latest technology to find recommendations on new medications and treatments can begin earlier. Waiting times are reduced as patients simply sign in and affirm that their records exist in their local hospital; staff can check a patient's scanned driver's license on-the-spot to confirm that they are talking to the actual person and not an identity thief.

Medical forms have a reputation for being some of the most complex documents in existence. This has already started to change, and President Obama wants them to be made into simplified documents. This reduces the amount of time that patients need to fill the documents in with information. As medical IT workers implement a paperless practice, medical documents used by patients will require a minimal amount of essential information, mostly used to confirm the identity of the patient. Some hospitals already use simplified forms in tandem with their paperless patient records.

America already has an electronic automobile insurance exchange. President Obama wants this idea to be expanded to include medical insurance. In a nutshell, this means that patients will be able to choose from a variety of options available at a single source. Terms, prices, and options can be compared on-the-spot by the patient, but all options will include a basic package that the add-ons apply to. What this does is allow the public to choose coverage based on addenda without the worry over essential areas of coverage such as maternity, mental health, and preventative medicine. Also, health care coverage will be patient-centered and not job-centered. President Obama wants Americans to think of health care as its own area instead of linking it to employment. An electronic exchange has been touted as a way to enforce fair premiums as well.

Obama's plan to cut health care costs through efficiency initiatives will work, and there is proof. At WellStar Cobb Hospital in Smyrna, the emergency room is paperless. There is one form - a sign-in sheet. If you are a new patient, the follow-up forms that they use are simple as well, and all cards used are scanned. The staff is friendly, helpful, and efficient as they hand-hold the patient through a quick and simple admission process.

On April 3, 2009, I went to WellStar Cobb Hospital's ER for a perforated tympanic membrane, which is medical jargon for a punctured ear drum. I expected to have a difficult time, but was pleasantly surprised by one of the most easy and efficient trips to the ER that I have ever had in my life.

I signed in using a simplified form. It took me about one minute to fill it out, and I was almost immediately called up to the desk for triage. The staff spent all of five minutes checking me in and issuing me my wrist band. I waited no longer than half an hour to enter a room. The records clerk pulled my patient records up from a portable desk on wheels. The efficiency was almost shocking; she had printed out consent forms, scanned my IDs and insurance cards, and filed whatever she needed to in ten minutes flat. We had a great conversation and the paperwork was incredibly easy for me to understand. The doctor diagnosed me as having a punctured ear drum immediately after examination and an electronic prescription was issued in less than five minutes. The paperwork issued to me upon leaving, including the prescription, was written in plain English and the pharmacy had no trouble filling my prescription.

Based on this experience, President Obama's plan for America's health care efficiency initiative is a proven plan to reduce both time and monetary costs associated with medical paperwork.

Sources:
1. Obama, B. "BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN'S PLAN TO LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS AND ENSURE AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL"

2. Personal Experience, WellStar Cobb Hospital ER visit. April 3, 2009.