This is what I mean: When I go into a doctor's or dentist's office, the staffie behind the desk almost invariably hands me three or four pages of forms to fill out. The information is the same: (name, date of birth, residence, etc., etc.) When I ask "don't you have this on file", I invariably get some lame-ass excuse that "we have to re-verify everything" or some crap like that.
Contrast that, if you will, to when I take my car into the local dealership for a major maintenance check. I call and make the appointment, they verify that it's the same car that I had the last time. When I get there, they have a work order printed out with name, address, telephone numbers, car data, etc. If I haven't moved or changed jobs, the only thing they have to fill in is the mileage. Everything else is pre-printed.
So, you might ask, why is an auto maintenance shop far more efficient for paperwork than a doctor's office?
Hell if I know. Maybe we ought to, as part of the health care "reform"[1], make all doctors go work for six months in an automobile repair shop.
(So what I do is sit down, ignore the "please print" instructions and scrawl, in my quasi-legible handwriting, into the blocks. Where nothing has changed, that's what I write. I have never had any of the staffies question me on this.)
[1]"Reform" being defined as "kowtowing to the senators who (i) have been
So, you might ask, why is an auto maintenance shop far more efficient for paperwork than a doctor's office?
ReplyDeleteBecause we (mechanics) generally ain't gaming the system. We don't have time to screw around with paperwork and still stay in business. Our profit margins aren't what the medical professionals are.
Because for me Ford Motor Company is not interested in using the information you provide with each visit and compare it to ant previous visits against you to deny coverage.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see is a toes to hair warranty for every child born.
Upgrades available upon request. These insurance are like banks they want the highest ground possible and I do not blame them, yet times are a changin'
I was surprised by Kaiser Permanente, they are great at puterizing my records. I re-joined at the age of 58, after a lapse of 40 years, and saw a print out listing my appendectomy at 3yo among other ancient details. Some one is doing the records part right. Very little duplication of forms for me.
ReplyDeleteFollow this link to Fresh Air interview of T.R. Reid:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112172939
The French medical card as described is incredible -- I wish we had it. The whole interview gives a good look at what we do now and what we could do with providing healthcare.