Visiting The Doctor
Really, who likes to visit the doctor??? Some of us may, but I for sure do not. There is always the fear they will find something wrong with us when we feel perfectly fine, or they may prescribe a medication which we do not need, and make things worst (this happened to me a number of years ago, with regards to an ear infection). In this regard, doctors, especially MD’s are known to be a “marketing” extension for Big Pharma, simply pushing drugs, antibiotics, and other prescriptions. In other words, rather than diagnosing the cause, they are simply addressing the symptom. But, this is an issue for another debate. Probably one of the other biggest fears is the long lien we have to endure, much of that filling out the dreaded paperwork, as mandated by HIPAA.
Well, now there may be a solution to help alleviate some this distress, and the Biometrics Vendor providing this is known as “Morpho” (I have written about them before).
The nitty gritty: “On October 1 2011, Germany will begin the country-wide distribution of its new electronic health card. Morpho (Safran group) is the first manufacturer to have received official approval for production of the card. This was confirmed by gematik (Gesellschaft für Telematikanwendungen der Gesundheitskarte) – the German association for telematics applications for the e-health card. This means that Morpho can now make the approved e-health card available to health insurers for upcoming distribution. By the end of the year, 10% of all insured persons will receive the new card . . . The production facility at the German manufacturing site in Flintbek near Kiel has successfully implemented the required security measures and is ready to start production. One in three persons in Germany insured under a statutory health insurance program will receive an e-health card produced in Flintbek. That makes Morpho one of the market leaders in terms of the total volume of electronic health cards.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9173/).
My Take
So, an e-health card??? Although the exact technological (especially the Biometrics) were not specifically mentioned, I assume it is Smart Card based, using Fingerprint Recognition as the primary Biometric. Launch of this new health card is supposed to happen in the 4th quarter of this year (which is coming up pretty quickly), and up to 10% of the German population will be eligible for it. It is expected that full deployment across Germany entirely will happen in 2012. I really like this idea of the e-health card. First, it can for sure speed up the time which is required at the doctor’s office. And hopefully, with everything being recorded onto the card, everything can be transcribed to the paper immediately. In other words, no need to even fill out paperwork!!! How great is that???
Second, as I have written about before, having something like this will come in great if we are ever faced with an ER type of situation. Rather than having to comb through our records, or call immediate family, all of our medical history can be recorded onto this card, and the doctor will know immediately what medications we cannot take.
Third, by having an e-health card, hopefully the our medical insurance costs will come down a little bit, as a result of greatly reduced paperwork. Fourth, based from what I have read, this e-health card can also be used for online functionality. I am assuming that this will translate to not as many stops to the pharmacy, as one can now get their required Rx’s online. So, we see this happening in Germany, but what about here in the United States???
Don’t it expect it any time soon, due to Privacy Rights, but even worst, all of the recent Federal Legislations and Mandates. There is so much of protocol, red tape, and buracracy, that this will probably kill any benefits from which can be derived from an e-health card.
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