So I spent most of the day at the hospital yesterday.
(Would love to tell you all about it, but, for starters, we're just not that close. And, besides, I'm sure it would violate all kinds of HIPAA rules.)
Anyway, while it was refreshing to see both the nurse and the doctor toting little netbooks in and out of the room, I couldn't help but wonder (again) how out of touch Congress is. I mean, this is right up there with Bush Sr. and the grocery store scanner.
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They suffered through blood, pork and cocktails to put this law together to address "needs" that don't necessarily exist. I've been wandering this wilderness for years, warning we should take care of our own problems before the suits do, but this seems like a case of the exception proving the rule. It's clear that, in this case, the providers are embracing technology, trying to cut costs through efficiency while improving quality of care. So why can't we get cooperation from lawmakers and regulators instead of more rules?
It's a lot like all the claims about insurers now being prohibited from dropping patients because they get sick. But its not like they could do that before, either. It's already been against the law for carriers to do that for more than 10 years now. But that didn't stop Congress from legislating that again this year.
Talk about double jeopardy.
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