Orange County Register

 14 Comments

• Not Even says:

  January 12, 2009 at 7:19 am

  How do you get your own medical records anyway? Had ct scan and x-ray and the lab refuses to release reports to me. Only to the M.D. Says it is their “policy.”
• bpsqwerty says:

  January 12, 2009 at 8:51 am

  I hear you but legally, they can’t hold them from you. they are YOUR property not theirs. if you have to jump through a few hoops, so be it but they have to release them.

  policy shmolicy. if they refuse, say your lawyer will be calling…
• Luuca says:

  January 12, 2009 at 9:52 am

  This sounds more like some sort of modified genealogy tool used to record and assist in predicting the occurrence of hereditary diseases such as some forms of cancer. While useful, it can hardly even be considered a start to using national electronic medical records.

  An actual EMH or EHR would be inclusive of your entire medical record. IF you made your own medical record, this would entail you doing the data entry of all of the hundreds or thousands of (depending upon age etc) paper documents currently held by physicians about you.

  When EMRs are discussed, they bring up the error reducing properties associated with a digital documentation, adjustable by your caregivers. Not about a digital document, adjustable by your caregivers AND you. Imagine that “idiot” that screwed up your order at that retail store doing his own record? Error reducing??

  Think of it this way… You have to data enter 75 pages of your medical record, by hand, into your desktop. Ask yourself these questions:
  1. How many errors would I make doing this?
  2. Where would I find the time to do this?
  3. How many errors would my 14-year-old, who is admittedly better at the computer than I, make doing this for me?

  Home Grown medical records? Not for me.

  Say it with me: Placebo.
• Thomas Banks says:

  January 12, 2009 at 2:17 pm

  First, believing that the US Government will effectively implement a nationwide electronic medical record is optimistic at best. Like most small businesses, healthcare is a collection of hundreds of thousands of vendors (e.g . Doctors) including MDs, DDSs, Chiropractors, Podiatrists, Optometrists, Psychologists, etc. In most cases, these are solo practitioners, or small groups that work diligently providing care to their patients and fighting the good fight with insurance companies simply to ensure they receive payment. Imagine if you will the challenges this diverse group faces attempting to provide a unified medical record for 300 million Americans. It is a task that is truly unbelievable.

  Yes it is true that a medical record is a very complex matter and is comprised of lab results, doctor’s notes, imaging studies, prescriptions, surgical reports, billing information and much much more. Each piece of paper has a purpose at the moment, yet may not be necessary at the time medical care is required in the future. What doctor today needs to know what a patient’s blood pressure was at 2:30am three years ago while in the hospital for cervical spine fusion surgery? This is just an example of the depth of medical information. What is important, however, is that the current healthcare provider has access to information that makes a difference right now!

  The benefits of electronic medical records are numerous, the most obvious being disaster recover. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of paper-medical records were washed away for paper and water are not compatible. As such, the benefit and value of electronic medical records is may be obvious to a practicing doctor, yet it still must be cost justified. Unfortunately, the cost of implementing this important technology is staggering – upwards of $75,000 per doctor. In doing so, the paper records don’t suddenly vanish because the cost of converting existing paper records to electronic records is equally staggering. The cost, however, doesn’t stop at buying a computer system and software. Imagine the average doctor with 4,000 patient files each with 50 pages of notes and documentation. At $0.35 per page in labor costs to scan these files, the doctor would spend an additional $70,000. Believe me, computerization is not an inexpensive process and in today’s economic climate, the average doctor is simply not willing to shoulder this burden.

  Do we trust the Government? This is the question that should be first and foremost on everyone’s mind. Not that there is some ulterior heinous motive. I don’t believe there is. The question is: “Should we allow our government and all those involved access to ‘YOUR’ information and more importantly, depend upon them to manage it efficiently and effective?” In my humble opinion, the answer is a resounding no!

  What than is the answer? Everyone needs to take an affirmative role in ensuring their health and wellbeing. As for managing your medical information, you should be in possession of all your records. In California, these records belong to the patient. The paper upon which the information is stored belongs to the doctor; however, he or she is legally obligated to provide you a copy. How much will it cost? By law, the patient can only be charged the “actual cost” of photocopying and delivering them to the patient. Copying medical records is not and cannot be a profit center for a doctor and they are prohibited from doing so.

  So what’s the answer? We at wellness360.com believe that medical information needs to be in the possession of the individual. As such, we enable our members to maintain a comprehensive medical and health history which is available 24/7 from anywhere in the world. Additionally, our members can store unlimited paper records forever. It is our belief that every citizen should be empowered to be an active participant in their healthcare. Toward that end, as an Orange County company, we are committed to providing a solution to this pressing need that is free to our members and the healthcare community as a whole. Certainly, we are not stupid businesspeople. wellness360 is made possible by subsidies from sponsoring organizations from a variety of industries including, lifestyle, fitness, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, insurance, clothing, travel, banking, and many more. These groups desire their messages to be presented to a definable population – people that exercise for example. In exchange, their advertising dollar is shared with our members (33%) providing substantial cash incentives and greatly contributing to immediately lowering the individual’s healthcare costs.

  Our mission is simple…to enable better healthcare, lower healthcare costs and make health insurance more accessible to everyone, including the 40 million uninsured Americans desperately in need of the peace-of-mind health care provides.

  Be Well,
  Aperture Health, Inc.

  Thomas Banks, Chairman / CEO

  http://www.aperturehealth.com
• Luuca says:

  January 13, 2009 at 8:06 am

  did he pay for that commercial? wow.
• Clifford Vegas says:

  January 14, 2009 at 12:23 pm

  Anybody who doesn’t recognize that there is civic responsibility in supporting “electronic health records” shouldn’t complain about the high cost of medical care in the U.S. Paper is expensive. It costs money moving all of those important pieces of paper from one office to another. I’ll also save time transferring to another doctor, so I’m taking personal responsibility by holding my own records. And in the process if I can make some bucks to boot… then HALLELUJAH!
• Luuca says:

  January 16, 2009 at 8:24 am

  Clifford Vegas wrote:”Anybody who doesn’t recognize that there is civic responsibility in supporting “electronic health records” shouldn’t complain about the high cost of medical care in the U.S.”

  Are you serious? Medical care is a business. They are there to make money. Is it my civic responsibility to support Wal Mart in the implementation of software that will increase their efficiency and profitability as well? Should I start collecting data on my families buying habbits, collect them in a spreadsheet, an forward them to retailers?

  THEY have the money, the expertise, the information, the technology, the workforce to make EMRs a reality within 30 days IF THEY WANTED TO. THEY do not, at least, it’s not proftable enough for them yet. YET.

  Wake up. Civic responsibility? Put it to a vote, I’ll vote on it, but don;t ask me to do the work they get paid to do.

  Clifford Vegas wrote: “And in the process if I can make some bucks to boot… then HALLELUJAH!”

  How, exactly, do you plan on making money off of compiling and keeping your own medical records? Selling them to whom?
• Clifford Vegas says:

  January 16, 2009 at 1:48 pm

  Luuca. From your remarks, I can tell that you did not read all of Tom Banks’ post. I can also tell that you don’t know much about healthcare costs in the U.S. But I’ll bet deep down – well past that cynical shell of yours - you care about the high cost of healthcare. Given an opportunity, you might even do some things that could result in lower medical bills.

  Speaking for myself, I eat healthy food (not Mc-Trash) and exercise as often as I can. The result is that I don’t see the doctor very often; don’t need prescriptions for lowering my blood cholesterol or to control my weight.

  I also know that PAPER RECORDS COST MONEY. Lots of money. It costs money to put information on the paper, to put the paper in your file, to move the file into a cabinet, to store it, to open it up and look for the paper – et cetera, et cetera. There’s quite a bit of reading material out there about how paper records increases healthcare cost – Bush mentioned it several years ago. Obama has made it a cornerstone of his national healthcare policy.

  You mentioned that medical care is a business. Surely you know that most modern American businesses avoid keeping paper records? Why? Because of the cost! Healthcare, as a business sector, is one of the most inefficient operations in the country.

  Take a look at the Banks post. His company pays people to logon to his site to use the wellness applets he has there. I earned a bunch of points last night by filling out the ‘personal medical records’ file. According to the offer, in a couple of months I’ll get a check for my efforts – paid by advertisers who do not have access to my records (the records are protected by HIPAA law). I’m exposed to a few more ads and I guess I might have to fill out a survey from time to time – but I’m playing a small role in reducing the need to use paper by keeping my health records stored electronically. If enough of us did this, maybe it could translate into lower medical cost. But at minimum, I’m not depending on my doctor to keep my records – I have my own file – I’m taking personal responsibility for my own information.

  I’m not saying that this is the be-all, end-all for controlling (or even reducing) healthcare cost, but unlike you I’m not a cynic. When it comes to addressing national problems (and I’m sure you heard that the cost of healthcare IS a national problem), I’m going to what I can – even something like this.

  I’m of the belief that I’m entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But the rest is up to me. And (I’ll say again) if I can make a few bucks to boot – HALLELUJAH!
• Luuca says:

  January 19, 2009 at 3:03 pm

  So…

  You are keeping your health records at a website/server that is sponsored by healcare related organizations. You are being paid to enter in your own healthcare information by the website. The website is being paid by the sponsors to allow them to show you advertisement. Few questions for you:
  1. How much of the revenues are you getting?
  2. What is your time worth?
  3. Ever hear about the Federal employee who lost a laptop with a list of people, their social security numbers, and other personal information?

  I believe that going digital with our information is vital to advancing our healthcare providers ability to decrease, in the long term, their opperating expenses. I also believe that, as private organizations, both for profit and non or not for profit, the responsability falls on them to implement the system. If they do see a decrease in overall expenses, I doubt that we, as consumers, will ever see any substantial decrease in our health insurance costs. What we may see is less red tape, less wasted time, more staff, more research, and possibly better care. Prices, once raised, rarely go down and stay there. see also: Gasoline.

  The real costs in healthcare are not the reams of paper you are charging like Don Quiote. The real costs for healtcare providers is in insurance - both HMOs and malpractice, general liability.
• Clifford Vegas says:

  January 20, 2009 at 12:17 pm

  Actually, I aim to be more like Sancho Panza – the realist behind the dreamer, because as we know, there is more to idealism than mere dreams.

  I think we can agree that the cost of healthcare is a serious, life-threatening problem for the entire country. There are quite a few ideas on the table how to fix it.

  Some people feel that universal healthcare is not the answer. Obviously, the current configuration of commercialize care is not perfect either. But do we saddle the American taxpayer with all the burden of providing care? I don’t think that’s a sustainable solution.

  Most successful socialized economies have an economic engine that sustains it (e.g., oil leases owned by Norway). In countries where such an engine does not exist (e.g., Canada, England), the taxpayer undertakes the full burden. Many folks in these countries have long since realized these systems are clearly not sustainable in the long run. I will also point out our own Medicaid and MediCAL as examples of unsustainable systems.

  I think that we need something else – some kind of hybrid arrangement that allows commercial enterprise to be an active participant in a publicly sponsored program that promotes wellness (i.e., eat better, live longer, use services less) and allows those with the most need to obtain services they require – perhaps at reduced cost, perhaps subsidized via a commercial/public partnership, perhaps something else.

  Wellness 360 is a commercial wellness enterprise that I have meets the test of originality. I had an opportunity to talk with a service rep – a lady by the name of Cindy Wells. She told me that they have 400,000 members – up from 30,000 only a year ago. Advertisers sponsor the little wellness modules they have there – there’s one for fitness, one for dieting, there are articles and a database (think “WebMD”), and the personal medical records system that started this conversation.

  Members generate points for using these modules. The rep I talked to says that there’s a wellness community – I haven’t tried that yet. She also said that the company has other on-line activities planned. On the face of it, you might say – who cares? Well, the advertisers apparently do. Members – of which now you can count me among them – generate points. These points convert into cash. In three or four months, the good folks are going to send me a check for the points I generate.

  Certainly, I don’t expect this to be a huge four-digit payday commensurate with my dayjob. But if I’m going to go online and use personal medical records; if I have the inclination to research a disease or medication; if I have a question about diet or fitness – I’d rather go to a website that will pay me for my activities than pay somebody for the service.

  Makes good commercial sense doesn’t it? It also opens the door to Mr Banks’ vision for a commercially subsidized wellness program. What’s not to get?

  Again I say, HALLELUJAH!
• Thomas Banks says:

  January 21, 2009 at 9:31 am

  Luuca and Clifford,

  I am honored by your enthusiastic debate. More importantly, the fact that Clifford has become a member of http://www.wellness360.com is greatly appreciated.

  I couldn�t agree more that the underlying economics of healthcare are very poorly managed and involve a great many �for profit� constituents muddying the already murky waters. We have allowed our leadership and the Insurance Companies to guide us through this paper mess far too long. The net result is the lack of a viable electronic information infrastructure and rising costs. The net cost of our paper-based healthcare system is staggering. Over 1/3rd of healthcare costs are directly attributable to paper � representing as much as $726 Billion ($2.2 Trillion x 30%) annually. How big is $726 Billion? To put it into perspective, simply divide $726 Billion by 300 million American citizens and you find that it represents an astounding $2,420 each.

  Now, let�s turn our attention to health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average American family of four spends $9,950 annually for health insurance. If each member in this �average family� is paid their share of the $726 Billion healthcare paper savings, the family would receive $9,680 ($2,420 x 4) annually with which to purchase health insurance. Distribution of the healthcare paper savings results in full health insurance for every man, woman and child in America without one additional penny derived from tax dollars.

  In the past few months, we have become desensitized to hearing large dollar values — $85 Billion for AIG, $25 Billion for Detroit, and $800 Billion bailout package. Isnâ��t it amazing that committing to paper reduction in healthcare could yield $700 Billion annually, representing a substantial offset to our investment in general economic recovery? More importantly, if we only reduce health care related paper costs by 1/3rd, the Trillion debt incurred as a result of our leaderâ��s economic recovery plan could be repaid in as little as 4 years. Even if the transition to a paperless healthcare system took 10 years, the benefits are enormous. It is clear to me what our priorities should be.

  The economic motivation underlying movement toward a paper-less healthcare system is truly compelling. However, when you add the valuable benefits of immediate access to critical medical data when it is needed most (e.g. in an emergency room) the value of an electronic healthcare infrastructure is overwhelming.

  Unfortunately, because the �paper cost� associated with healthcare is invisible to most of us � out of sight, out of mind � �WE� fail to take up the banner for �CHANGE.� Personally, I encourage you and every citizen to speak out about the importance of change that yields direct and immediate results.

  Yesterday our Nation inaugurated a new President. Whether you or I voted for President Obama is irrelevant. What is important is that all of us, Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc., desires change that is good for this country. I believe all of us can effect change in many ways. Unfortunately, I can�t personally bring peace to the Middle East or remove our country�s dependence on foreign oil. I can, however, through a viable business initiative demonstrated at http://www.wellness360.com help guide this county in a direction that lowers healthcare costs, reduces demand for tax subsidies, and enables our wonderful and amazing healthcare professionals to provide each of us the best possible care when desperately needed.

  As a fellow citizen of this great county I thank you for your interest and rousing debate. Unless we continue to pull back the covers that obscure creative answers to difficult problems I am afraid our leadership will simply look to the simple and obvious path � increased taxes, reduced services and debt.

  We need to lobby our leadership today to take up this cause and begin saving now to ensure a tomorrow.

  Be Well,

  Best Regards,
  Aperture Health, Inc. (OTCBB: APRE)

  Thomas Banks, Chairman/CEO

  http://www.aperturehealth.com
• Thomas Banks says:

  January 21, 2009 at 9:37 am

  THIS SITES DIDN’T LIKE THE QUOTE MARKS IN MY POST…AND MESSED UP THE FORMATTING… AS SUCH, DISREGARD THE PREVIOUS POST.

  Luuca and Clifford,

  I am honored by your enthusiastic debate. More importantly, the fact that Clifford has become a member of http://www.wellness360.com is greatly appreciated.

  I couldn�t agree more that the underlying economics of healthcare are very poorly managed and involve a great many �for profit� constituents muddying the already murky waters. We have allowed our leadership and the Insurance Companies to guide us through this paper mess far too long. The net result is the lack of a viable electronic information infrastructure and rising costs. The net cost of our paper-based healthcare system is staggering. Over 1/3rd of healthcare costs are directly attributable to paper � representing as much as $726 Billion ($2.2 Trillion x 30%) annually. How big is $726 Billion? To put it into perspective, simply divide $726 Billion by 300 million American citizens and you find that it represents an astounding $2,420 each.

  Now, let�s turn our attention to health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average American family of four spends $9,950 annually for health insurance. If each member in this �average family� is paid their share of the $726 Billion healthcare paper savings, the family would receive $9,680 ($2,420 x 4) annually with which to purchase health insurance. Distribution of the healthcare paper savings results in full health insurance for every man, woman and child in America without one additional penny derived from tax dollars.

  In the past few months, we have become desensitized to hearing large dollar values — $85 Billion for AIG, $25 Billion for Detroit, and $800 Billion bailout package. Isnâ��t it amazing that committing to paper reduction in healthcare could yield $700 Billion annually, representing a substantial offset to our investment in general economic recovery? More importantly, if we only reduce health care related paper costs by 1/3rd, the Trillion debt incurred as a result of our leaderâ��s economic recovery plan could be repaid in as little as 4 years. Even if the transition to a paperless healthcare system took 10 years, the benefits are enormous. It is clear to me what our priorities should be.

  The economic motivation underlying movement toward a paper-less healthcare system is truly compelling. However, when you add the valuable benefits of immediate access to critical medical data when it is needed most (e.g. in an emergency room) the value of an electronic healthcare infrastructure is overwhelming.

  Unfortunately, because the �paper cost� associated with healthcare is invisible to most of us � out of sight, out of mind � �WE� fail to take up the banner for �CHANGE.� Personally, I encourage you and every citizen to speak out about the importance of change that yields direct and immediate results.

  Yesterday our Nation inaugurated a new President. Whether you or I voted for President Obama is irrelevant. What is important is that all of us, Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc., desires change that is good for this country. I believe all of us can effect change in many ways. Unfortunately, I can�t personally bring peace to the Middle East or remove our country�s dependence on foreign oil. I can, however, through a viable business initiative demonstrated at http://www.wellness360.com help guide this county in a direction that lowers healthcare costs, reduces demand for tax subsidies, and enables our wonderful and amazing healthcare professionals to provide each of us the best possible care when desperately needed.

  As a fellow citizen of this great county I thank you for your interest and rousing debate. Unless we continue to pull back the covers that obscure creative answers to difficult problems I am afraid our leadership will simply look to the simple and obvious path � increased taxes, reduced services and debt.

  We need to lobby our leadership today to take up this cause and begin saving now to ensure a tomorrow.

  Be Well,

  Best Regards,
  Aperture Health, Inc. (OTCBB: APRE)

  Thomas Banks, Chairman/CEO

  http://www.aperturehealth.com
• Thomas Banks says:

  January 21, 2009 at 9:44 am

  IT SEEMS THE REGISTER DOESN’T LIKE QUOTES, APOSTROPHES OR HYPHENS… IN THE SPRIT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICTION I HAVE DELETED THEM AND REPOSTED MY COMMENT.

  Luuca and Clifford,
  I am honored by your enthusiastic debate. More importantly, the fact that Clifford has become a member of http://www.wellness360.com is greatly appreciated.

  I could not agree more that the underlying economics of healthcare are very poorly managed and involve a great many for profit constituents muddying the already murky waters. We have allowed our leadership and the Insurance Companies to guide us through this paper mess far too long. The net result is the lack of a viable electronic information infrastructure and rising costs. The net cost of our paper-based healthcare system is staggering. Over 1/3rd of healthcare costs are directly attributable to paper � representing as much as $726 Billion ($2.2 Trillion x 30%) annually. How big is $726 Billion? To put it into perspective, simply divide $726 Billion by 300 million American citizens and you find that it represents an astounding $2,420 each.

  Now, let us turn our attention to health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average American family of four spends $9,950 annually for health insurance. If each member in this average family is paid their share of the $726 Billion healthcare paper savings, the family would receive $9,680 ($2,420 x 4) annually with which to purchase health insurance. Distribution of the healthcare paper savings results in full health insurance for every man, woman and child in America without one additional penny derived from tax dollars.

  In the past few months, we have become desensitized to hearing large dollar values such as $85 Billion for AIG, $25 Billion for Detroit, and $800 Billion bailout package. Is it not amazing that committing to paper reduction in healthcare could yield $700 Billion annually, representing a substantial offset to our investment in general economic recovery? More importantly, if we only reduce health care related paper costs by 1/3rd, the Trillion debt incurred as a result of the economic recovery plan could be repaid in as little as 4 years. Even if the transition to a paperless healthcare system took 10 years, the benefits are enormous. It is clear to me what our priorities should be.

  The economic motivation underlying movement toward a paper-less healthcare system is truly compelling. However, when you add the valuable benefits of immediate access to critical medical data when it is needed most (e.g. in an emergency room) the value of an electronic healthcare infrastructure is overwhelming.

  Unfortunately, because the paper cost associated with healthcare is invisible to most of us � out of sight, out of mind � WE fail to take up the banner for CHANGE. Personally, I encourage you and every citizen to speak out about the importance of change that yields direct and immediate results.

  Yesterday our Nation inaugurated a new President. Whether you or I voted for President Obama is irrelevant. What is important is that all of us, Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc., desires change that is good for this country. I believe all of us can effect change in many ways. Unfortunately, I cannot personally bring peace to the Middle East or remove our dependence on foreign oil. I can, however, through a viable business initiative demonstrated at http://www.wellness360.com help guide this county in a direction that lowers healthcare costs, reduces demand for tax subsidies, and enables our wonderful and amazing healthcare professionals to provide each of us the best possible care when desperately needed.

  As a fellow citizen of this great county I thank you for your interest and rousing debate. Unless we continue to pull back the covers that obscure creative answers to difficult problems I am afraid our leadership will simply look to the simple and obvious path is increased taxes, reduced services and debt.

  We need to lobby our leadership today to take up this cause and begin saving now to ensure a tomorrow.

  Be Well,

  Best Regards,
  Aperture Health, Inc. (OTCBB: APRE)

  Thomas Banks, Chairman/CEO

  http://www.aperturehealth.com
• Katie says:

  February 24, 2009 at 11:31 am

  Personally……I think people are fools anymore to even give any information to a new doctor other than name and address. It gets used against you if you apply for Life Insurance, etc. I don’t give any doctors anything when filling out forms…..I don’t tell them meds I am on, other doctors I see or any other information…….I just see that doctor for that issue…….that’s it!! I am not leaving a trail for anyone to track me any longer and haven’t for years. This information that you put in you records will be used against you when applying for jobs, when applying for Life Insurance…….Don’t Do It!!!!