Topic: Electronic Health Records

The implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) is criticized as a nightmare for doctors. The segment argues that the insurance industry functions more like a banking system than a healthcare provider, prioritizing profit over patient care.

The discussion focuses on the push to digitize all medical records, which the hosts argue makes them vulnerable to hackers and exploitation by insurance companies. They warn that "sharing information" is a euphemism for allowing insurers to access blood tests and health data to justify raising rates. They emphasize that patients technically own their records but often sign those rights away.

Following the death of Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas, reports surfaced of a "computer glitch" that prevented doctors from seeing travel history notes. A listener who is an ER nurse clarifies that the issue is actually a poorly designed electronic health record system that is so difficult to navigate that medical staff frequently bypass it.

The conversation turns to the security risks inherent in the "smart grid" and the digitization of healthcare records. John Dixon warns that the rush to connect critical infrastructure to the internet often outstrips the implementation of necessary security measures. He notes that clunky user interfaces in patient portals often indicate a lack of sophisticated back-end security, leaving sensitive medical data vulnerable.

During a donor thank-you segment, a physician contributor warns about the government's mandate for Electronic Health Records (EHR). He suggests that the move to digital records is designed to facilitate real-time snooping by the NSA and CIA, recommending that patients find doctors who still use paper charts. Other donors request "karma" for family health issues, including leukemia and strokes.

Adam Curry discusses the implementation of the Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD) in the Netherlands, which shares medical data directly with insurance companies. He also notes a trend toward cashless transactions at traditional Dutch farmers' markets, where vendors now prefer debit cards over physical currency. The hosts view these developments as signs of increasing surveillance in "Gitmo Nation."