Mandates ‘decimating’ medicine

Our government is systematically decimating the practice of medicine in the U.S. The CMS called a long overdue “timeout” and solicited comments concerning how to rectify their disastrous electronic health-record mandates. The current immature, rushed, proprietary EHR technology fails to meet the objectives intended to improve quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare. Unscrupulous but effective lobbyists promoted corporate sponsorship of the EHR data-mining scheme, with a play-or-pay federal penalty for physicians.

Realistically reworking the onerous mandates concerning E-prescribing, EHRs and the new International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10, taking into consideration what actually goes on when trying to care for patients is the only way to move forward with government objectives. Allow doctors to treat patients in accordance with best scientific information instead of spending their time attempting to comply with nonsensical mandates sold by insurance companies and the IT industry to politicians and bureaucrats for a quick fix of a system with complicated problems.

Cathy Poole, Medical practice manager, High Point, N.C.