My husband had an appointment at the cardiologist's yesterday. This was a new posted notice while checking in:

Your cardiologist didn't have that information on you already?

It would seem to be all important information when visiting a Dr.
(If he is unable to determine your sex with out asking... Find a new Dr.)

Do you have to break down your ethnicity by fractions?  1/4 Italian/Polish/Irish/German?

Can employers ask these questions now?

Quoted from Tommy

Your cardiologist didn't have that information on you already?

Your doctor should have this information if it helps diagnose or treat a medical condition.  But for the government to MANDATE it?  That doesn't strike you as odd?

Ethnicity and Race are important facts in a Dr's diagnosis.  Many diseases have ethnic and racial indicators that aren't in the general public.

Quoted from Box A Rox

Ethnicity and Race are important facts in a Dr's diagnosis.  Many diseases have ethnic and racial indicators that aren't in the general public.

Shouldn't that be at the discretion of your doctor and not the government?  I thought Obamacare wasn't going to get in between you and your doctor?  This sign clearly states that this medical practice is only NOW asking for this information because the Government is mandating it.  So now we know for a fact that Obamacare is taking at LEAST one decision out of the hands of your doctor.  A patient's personal information pertinent to the doctors diagnosis is now determined by the federal government NOT the treating doctor.  Let's see if we can count how many new ways the federal government can intrude into our personal and private lives.  

Please box, tell me how this is good for me.

We have been going to this cardiologist for a year. This was the first time we saw this posted. I did ask the girl behind the desk if this was new. And she told us that this information is now required by the government. She also said that all of their patient's information goes directly to the government now, via internet. The doctor who was seeing my husband was also inputting all his information into a lap top that has to be coded and sent to the government. The doctor ordered a new medication for my husband. He ordered it directly from his lap top to the drug store. He said that the government wants scripts to be ordered on line in stead of the written ones for tracking and information purposes.

This information will be used to rate a physician, hospital or any medical facility for payment.

I noticed they don't ask for proof of citizenship...Of course...That would be WAY TOO intrusive.

The sign says "Due to New Govt Regulation"but it doesn't say what regulation.  
  Anyone know?

Quoted Text

http://www.massdevice.com/news/hhs-issues-meaningful-use-regs

Quoted Text

http://www.massdevice.com/news/hhs-issues-meaningful-use-regs

The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services issued long-anticipated rules governing "meaningful use" of electronic medical records systems, aiming to make it easier for healthcare providers to tap into $27 billion in federal incentives.


I'm usually good at looking up info but can't find the regulation for this  

OK I found it, its called the HITECH ACT

he American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included $19 billion in funding for the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, aimed at advancing the adoption of electronic health records. The HITECH Act provides incentive payments for healthcare providers who implement EHR systems and meet “meaningful use” requirements. Penalties for those who fail to comply with these requirements will begin in 2015.


Concluding Comments on the HITECH Act

First we need to emphasize that coverage of the HITECH Act as provided in this guide includes only a small subset of the Act's content that may be relevant to providers. Other resources in the Appendix point to where additional detailed information can be found. One of the principal reasons for writing this guide was to highlight that the Act now makes HIPAA more directly relevant to providers (financially and otherwise), from a practical perspective, than it may have been in the past.

Why? Because under the HITECH Act there are significant taxpayer dollars appropriated in the form of incentive funding that directly target a provider's adoption of an EHR system. Regulators, patients and other stakeholders are certain to demand more transparency and accountability. If a provider wants to receive the benefit of incentives, or at a minimum wants to avoid any subsequent penalties, then they appear to have little choice, other than to increase their literacy regarding HIPAA's Privacy and Security Rules and the new provisions of the Act.

Small providers may benefit enormously if they can find creative ways to pool resources to respond to these challenges.

The girl behind the desk said that it is for the new national health care. I was told that all medical facilities and medical offices are transmitting all patient information to the government. They are using it to collect and create stats and make payment adjustments for services according to government guidelines. Doctors and medical facilities will be rated and paid accordingly. The government payouts will take longer and will be less than private insurance payouts. The government will also decide what treatment or tests a patient receives. They provide the guidelines to the doctors and medical facilities.

That is how it was explained to us.

Quoted Text

The government will also decide what treatment or tests a patient receives. They provide the guidelines to the doctors and medical facilities.

Shouldn't the doctor decide what is needed, scary stuff.

Quoted from rpforpres

Shouldn't the doctor decide what is needed, scary stuff.

They will have guidelines to follow for each disease, illness or medical service. Hopefully it won't be too restrictive.