Saturday, June 13, 2009
“Key health care Senators have industry ties” – well, duh
On Friday (and Saturday) of this week (Jun 13, 2009) Associated Press writers Larry Margasak and Sharon Theimer wrote about key Senators who are working on the health care reform issue and their financial ties to the health care industry. Well, duh. Do you really want someone trying to reform a trillion dollar industry that is not heavily invested in the same industry? On a broader scale, do you want anyone handling trillions of your dollars on a daily basis who is not well versed in what it means to be personally diversified?
To quote a May 2001 article from Black Enterprise, “IN TODAY'S AILING MARKET, ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCES IS WITH A STRONG DOSE OF HEALTHCARE INVESTMENTS”. While it may be sensationalist to say, “Key health care Senators have industry ties”, it does not do justice to the truth. Our lawmakers are people, too (unbelievably), and while it is our right to hold them up to a higher scrutiny than others, it is not our right to lambast them for being frugal and prudent in their own investments and personal finances.
Come on now, if you had the ways and means, you would have a much-diversified portfolio, right? Of course, you would. These kinds of investments do any number of things from making sure your children, grandchildren are provided for, as well as keeping industry strong, and creating jobs so more Americans can invest in creating jobs.
Larry, Sharon, after looking over your writing, you do not need this type of sensationalist drivel to keep your work published. Keep the first Amendment strong, but do not trivialize it with this type of stuff. Thanks.
To quote a May 2001 article from Black Enterprise, “IN TODAY'S AILING MARKET, ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCES IS WITH A STRONG DOSE OF HEALTHCARE INVESTMENTS”. While it may be sensationalist to say, “Key health care Senators have industry ties”, it does not do justice to the truth. Our lawmakers are people, too (unbelievably), and while it is our right to hold them up to a higher scrutiny than others, it is not our right to lambast them for being frugal and prudent in their own investments and personal finances.
Come on now, if you had the ways and means, you would have a much-diversified portfolio, right? Of course, you would. These kinds of investments do any number of things from making sure your children, grandchildren are provided for, as well as keeping industry strong, and creating jobs so more Americans can invest in creating jobs.
Larry, Sharon, after looking over your writing, you do not need this type of sensationalist drivel to keep your work published. Keep the first Amendment strong, but do not trivialize it with this type of stuff. Thanks.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Obama Healthcare Plan
I am glad to see President Obama taking such an aggressive lead in doing something about the crisis in healthcare in the US. If nothing more is done than to start a truly meaningful dialog, it will be a good start. One of the key components the President has encouraged is the use of electronic medical records (EMR) to streamline operations and reduce costs. While this sounds good, it has to be remembered that implementing an EMR is not like implementing a new version of Windows.
Some years ago I put together a white paper called "From Zero to GUI" in which I detailed the process of implementing the first phase of an EMR - any EMR. Some of the larger companies, such as GE have been on-board with EMR long before President Obama was sworn in. Other organizations such as the VistA Software Alliance and World VistA have been pushing for an open-source EMR solution for quite some time. These open-source solutions are based on the proven EMR used by the VA hospitals nationwide, which are also the basis for the DOD system, and the system used by the Indian Health Service.
Getting something done about the healthcare crisis is necessary, but I believe we need to set about establishing a good foundation before we start. In the coming weeks, we will explore some of, what I believe are, the foundational principles behind our need for healthcare reform. One thing is certain - treating this problem like so many others by throwing large sums of Federal money at it is not the answer.
Some years ago I put together a white paper called "From Zero to GUI" in which I detailed the process of implementing the first phase of an EMR - any EMR. Some of the larger companies, such as GE have been on-board with EMR long before President Obama was sworn in. Other organizations such as the VistA Software Alliance and World VistA have been pushing for an open-source EMR solution for quite some time. These open-source solutions are based on the proven EMR used by the VA hospitals nationwide, which are also the basis for the DOD system, and the system used by the Indian Health Service.
Getting something done about the healthcare crisis is necessary, but I believe we need to set about establishing a good foundation before we start. In the coming weeks, we will explore some of, what I believe are, the foundational principles behind our need for healthcare reform. One thing is certain - treating this problem like so many others by throwing large sums of Federal money at it is not the answer.
