The old Soviet Union had a solution for our shrinking supply of doctors which is coming our way. Feldshars with a few years of medical training. When I was in graduate school in the 1960s I translated articles from a newspaper, Medisinskii Rabotnik for a professor of sociology. They sent feldshars to the rural areas and left the doctors in the cities to enjoy ballet and symphony and stores with something on the shelves. The government controlled the number, selection, salaries and the region where they were assigned. How many of these physician-lite people do you think will want to come (or be assigned) to your small community?
This morning I had a doctor’s appointment with a specialist. Not only was the computer system with all patient records down, but the back up (in Chicago) was down. They needed to rely on my recall. Beginning in January they will be forced to get rid of all their paper files. None of this EMR/EHR has ever been tested to see if it will save money or improve care, or protect our privacy. It’s a boondoggle for government bureaucracy and a boon for the IT companies. In the last 2 years, my regular doctor has been looking at the screen of his lap top instead of me, and saying they have a new software update he’s learning to use.
Obama is driving doctors out of private practice. How does that help the poor? The doctor I saw this morning has 5500 patients in private practice. Many are low income. Where will they go—someplace with long lines. Where the rest of us will be.
We had the best medical care in the world, and he wanted it taken down.
Be sure to watch the video with this piece.
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