Rush Limbaugh has been spreading this nonsense ..its now making its way through the right wing blogs...and Rush is laughing all the way to bank. He is loving this stimulus bill...what a rating maker to keep his minions listening and spreading the bullshit!
The
National Coordinator of Health Information Technology is not a "new bureaucracy" ...in fact, it was created by Bush.
IMO, it was one of the good programs he established. Not only to coordinate the transformation of medical records to a more efficient electronic system. But also to coordinate the dissemination of medical information and research to physicians.
Here is what the stimulus bill says:
SEC. 3001. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
"(a) Establishment-- There is established within the Department of Health and Human Services an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (referred to in this section as the 'Office'). The Office shall be headed by a National Coordinator who shall be appointed by the Secretary and shall report directly to the Secretary.
"(b) Purpose-- The National Coordinator shall perform the duties under subsection (c) in a manner consistent with the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information and that--
"(1) ensures that each patient's health information is secure and protected, in accordance with applicable law;
"(2) improves health care quality, reduces medical errors, reduces health disparities, and advances the delivery of patient-centered medical care;
"(3) reduces health care costs resulting from inefficiency, medical errors, inappropriate care, duplicative care, and incomplete information;
"(4) provides appropriate information to help guide medical decisions at the time and place of care;
"(5) ensures the inclusion of meaningful public input in such development of such infrastructure;
"(6) improves the coordination of care and information among hospitals, laboratories, physician offices, and other entities through an effective infrastructure for the secure and authorized exchange of health care information;
"(7) improves public health activities and facilitates the early identification and rapid response to public health threats and emergencies, including bioterror events and infectious disease outbreaks;
"(8) facilitates health and clinical research and health care quality;
"(9) promotes prevention of chronic diseases;
"(10) promotes a more effective marketplace, greater competition, greater systems analysis, increased consumer choice, and improved outcomes in health care services; and
"(11) improves efforts to reduce health disparities.
I think it will be great that physicians, hospital and labs will have a centralized data base of independent research on medications and medical practices rather than just studies funded by the pharmaceutical and/or insurance industries.
There is absolutely nothing in the current legislation that would expand the mission of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to
"monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. " as suggested in the article above.
Nothing more than fear mongering!