Your Voice: Computerization of medicine simply a failed experiment

This article appears in the 5/25/18 issue of Medical Economics

I agree 100% with Ken Fisher’s assessment on the abject failure of the EHR mandate (“Is the EHR an ill-conceived obsession?” MedicalEconomics.com)
President Obama’s genius central planners are to blame for this mess; they proved once again that state socialism does not work, when they unleashed MACRA and EHR requirements on us, before they were pushed out the door. Healthcare is the only industry to suffer permanent losses of efficiency, profitability, and quality due to computerization.
Why did banking migrate to the web so smoothly and painlessly by comparison? Because it was not subject to a government mandate. When the government tells you how to micromanage your business, bankruptcy is right around the corner. The answer is as clear now as ever: Revoke MACRA and revoke the EHR mandate.
If you like your EHR, you can keep it. If you hate your EHR, feel free to blow it up.

David L. Keller, MD
Lomita, Calif.

‘Ludicrous’ to replace doctors with non-physician providers

I totally agree with your statements about physician earnings (Your Voice, “Foolish to presume doctors make too much, others deserve more,” March 10, 2018). What is so often not mentioned are the great cost of medications, drug company direct-to-consumer advertising, and the huge incomes of insurance company executives.
Furthermore, physicians must have an undergraduate college degree, four years of medical school, and at least three years of residency and additional years of training for a fellowship. As a result, most physicians are saddled with substantial debt before they can begin to earn a substantial income. We, furthermore, accept great responsibility and exposure to malpractice suits.
The idea that physicians can be replaced by physician assistants or nurse practitioner is ludicrous. While they may be able to manage very straightforward clinical situations they are not equipped to deal with the more complex problems or recognize when a patient is seriously ill. They do not possess the knowledge of the natural history of diseases which can only be obtained after the rigorous training a physician undergoes. In short, you get what you pay for.
Commercial airline pilots are well paid and deservedly so. You do not hear much complaint about this.

Philip Greenhill, MD
Dover, N.J.

Fewer grades, more change

I’m writing to reply to Anish Koka’s “Grading the Trump administration’s healthcare initiatives” (MedicalEconomics.com).
As a full time pastor and retired physician, I feel that a response from a different set of trench workers is needed. People in my area are suffering from the recent healthcare policies. The hard-working people in rural Southeast Oklahoma are struggling to get quality healthcare vs. surviving. Many of these people are Trump supporters. It is unfortunate that the current administration’s policies will not support them.
As you continue to give grades, I will continue to work to find quality healthcare to for all people regardless of their political affiliation.

Charles A. Woodridge MD, M.Divinity
Talihina, Okla.