Medical Record Privacy - Invaded by HIPAA

In a listing of married Doctors, it was emphasized by the physicians that though they were married, they never discussed patients with each other and attribute this to strict privacy laws. This reflects how our profession has been trivialized by the legal profession, primarily through our Congress. Medical students are drilled never to discuss patients with members of the family or friends for this violation of the Hippocratic Oath will sooner or later backfire, causing loss of medical license, disruption of family—personal and professional destruction. Confidentiality is a doctor's MIDDLE name. It is also emphasized in Nursing and Medical Assistant schools.

The U.S. Congress, under the pretext of forcing privacy on physicians, nurses and their staff, has given access to our patients' confidential medical records to a large number of lay and clerical workers and administrative bureaucrats, without the patient giving permission or even being informed or aware.

We receive regular quarterly notices, with a cover letter, to copy and submit a number of our patients' charts to insurance carriers, Medicare, Medicaid and other government agencies. These notices are signed by a third party that collects this information, advising us not to inform the patient since they have a right to [invade our patient's privacy] because HIPAA authorizes it.

At this juncture in time, each of the five hospital systems in Sacramento has electronic medical records (EMRs). Essentially every physician office can access these EMRs from his or her office or the hospital. There is no need for the federal government to spend taxpayer's funds to make all EMRs readable by government agencies so they can snoop into our patient's confidential and personal history.

EMRs are being developed by the profession and the hospitals as fast as is feasible without forcing taxpayers to fund this innovation. They are making excellent progress. Although this causes stress for the medical and nursing professions, they are meeting the challenge rather well. There is no need for the Federal Government to become involved in the EMR for their purpose is now apparent--invading the medical privacy of the American citizenry. It has nothing to do with lowering the cost of health care. Government mandates always increase costs.

Smoke or be fined.

The Ultimate Result of Cigarette Taxes: Smoke or be Fined

China has 350 million smokers, of whom a million die of smoking-related diseases every year.
BEIJING - OFFICIALS in a county in central China have been told to smoke nearly a quarter million packs of locally made cigarettes annually or risk being fined, state media reported on Monday.

The Gong'an county government in Hubei province has ordered its staff to puff their way through 230,000 packs of Hubei-produced cigarette brands a year, the Global Times said.
Departments that fail to meet their targets will be fined, according to the report.

'The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax,' said Chen Nianzu, a member of the Gong'an cigarette market supervision team, according to the paper.

The measure could also be a ploy to aid local cigarette brands such as Huanghelou, which are under severe pressure from competitors in neighbouring Hunan province, according to the paper.
China has 350 million smokers, of whom a million die of smoking-related diseases every year.

More than half of all male doctors in China smoke, but the government is now trying harder to get them to kick the habit in order to set an example for others, state media reported recently.