Wal-Mart, High tech medical records

[RenegadeDave]

CNSNews.com - Wal-Mart to Enter Electronic Medical Records Arena

WalMart to launch a program similar to the federal governments electronic medical records, cheaper than the government could/did.

Personally, I like the idea of a private party managing the process who is then accountable to the Federal Government, rather than the Imperial Federal Government holding all of the cards.

I'm sure there's some animosity toward WalMart around here, but they seem to do well at whatever they do. If they can help bring down the cost/up the accuracy of health care, I'm all for it.

 

[E Lucevan Le Stelle]

CNSNews.com - Wal-Mart to Enter Electronic Medical Records Arena

WalMart to launch a program similar to the federal governments electronic medical records, cheaper than the government could/did.

Personally, I like the idea of a private party managing the process who is then accountable to the Federal Government, rather than the Imperial Federal Government holding all of the cards.

I'm sure there's some animosity toward WalMart around here, but they seem to do well at whatever they do. If they can help bring down the cost/up the accuracy of health care, I'm all for it.

Ugh.

I'm NOT in favour of this at all.
Wal-Mart managing people's medical records?

This is a HIDEOUSLY bad idea, and will only end in some colossal lawsuits. If a private firm HAS to handle medical records (which to be honest is a bad idea anyway), it should certainly NOT be a vast one with massive business interests and a huge employee count where medical records are a side business. Especially a company with moral standards as poor as Wal-Mart's. You just know some "bright spark" of an executive is going to search through Wal-Mart employees' medical records and find BS reasons to fire those who're going to probably incur large medical bills in the future.

Here's a big FUCK NO.

 

[Randy]

Well put, Nick.

 

[Rick]

I'm gonna have to agree with Nick on this one.

 

[RenegadeDave]

I've more faith in WalMart handling this ethically and competently than the Government.

Taking WalMart out of the picture for a second, what makes you think the Government would do a better job? They've failed or marginally succeeded at huge cost literally everything that they have ever set forth to do. Social Security is the Ponzi Scheme that Bernie Madoff likely drew his inspiration from. Department of Education has proven to be a black hole that no matter how much cash is thrown at them, no test scores improve. You can look to our excursion to the middle east as a lesson in gross mismanagement.

The difference here being that WalMart is using private funds vs. tax payer dollars and are still accountable to the Federal Government, Share Holders, Customers, and clients.

The Imperial Federal Government is accountable to pretty much no one and has no private funds. Yeah, you can vote for your congressmen/Senators but that's not going to change anything any time soon. The impetus to carry out this operation efficiently, securely, and effectively simply does not exist. Conversely a private enterprise would be driven by the need to make a profit, which means they'd need to do it efficiently, securely, and in a manner that would attract customers.

I don't see how you can rationally claim the government would do a better job when it's track record suggests just the opposite. Conversely, WalMart has been successful in all of it's ventures I've been made aware of.

As you mentioned, if they fuck it up, they've got potentially dozens/hundreds of law suits on their hands.

How would the government handling this conceivably be ANY better?

 

[Metal Ken]

I've decided to replace the word "Wal-Mart" With "The Government" in your post.

Ugh.

I'm NOT in favour of this at all.
The Government managing people's medical records?

This is a HIDEOUSLY bad idea, and will only end in some colossal lawsuits. If a private firm HAS to handle medical records (which to be honest is a bad idea anyway), it should certainly NOT be a vast one with massive business interests and a huge employee count where medical records are a side business. Especially a company with moral standards as poor as The Government. You just know some "bright spark" of an executive is going to search through The Government employees' medical records and find BS reasons to fire those who're going to probably incur large medical bills in the future.

Here's a big FUCK NO.

Aside from the mention of "Massive Busines" (which the government is becoming anyway) it totally works.

 

[Lucky Seven]

I've decided to replace the word "Wal-Mart" With "The Government" in your post.


Aside from the mention of "Massive Busines" (which the government is becoming anyway) it totally works.

I was thinking the same thing. Great post.

 

[Rick]

Agreed with Ken.

I don't like the idea of the government having our records, but Wal-Mart having them isn't the solution.

 

[furrevig]

the country on the whole has a big issue with who is accountable...
who is really accountable for your health.
YOU YOURSELF ARE.

most everyone has lost a sense of whats important in your physical and mental health. if everyone was really serious, they would eat the recommended amount of nutritional vegetables and fruit that are vital to your sustainability of life. not to mention, a sense of purpose and community and family.

the goverment does not care. if you chose to eat fast food 3-5 times a week. have a high intake of carbonated beverages. smoke and drink, and suddenly end up with cancer. they are only going to pump you full of chemotherapy.

me personally. i feel health insurance should care for simple issues. breaking a bone ect.

google seacrch BLUE ZONES. areas of the world where community's live well over 100 years of age. These people don't suck off the tit of the goverment. You will only find men 90 years of age still chopping wood and farming for their families. Unconditional love and a sense of whats truly important will carry your existence beyond what some mechanical grid will ever provide you.

 

[lefty robb]

WalMart = Fail.

Walmart handling important documents = Epic Fail.

 

[AK DRAGON]

WalMart = Fail.

Walmart handling important documents = Epic Fail.

+1

I agree 110%

 

[RenegadeDave]

Maybe someday someone can explain to this contempt for WalMart...

 

[E Lucevan Le Stelle]

Maybe someday someone can explain to this contempt for WalMart...

The fact they have atrocious business practices?

Wake-Up Wal-Mart: The Real Wal-Mart Facts

I can't be bothered to make a truly massive post... but shit employee healthcare coverage (down to suing a brain damaged woman who'd won a case against the driver who hit her out of her winnings, in order to recoup their payments towards her treatment), terrible wages and employment schedules designed to stop their part time employees being able to work elsewhere, massively abusing local authority subsidies in order to expand, anti-competitive behaviour on a huge scale, firing employees who attempt to unionise, sex discrimination, child labour (not only as a massive operator of Chinese sweatshops but also within the USA), knowingly employing illegal immigrants, deliberately underpaying employees ("employees to work unpaid off the clock, erase[d] hours from time cards and prevent[ed] workers from taking lunch and other breaks that were promised by the company or guaranteed by state laws." [New York Times, 12/24/08]), and getting away with it thanks to massive corporate lobbying, makes a pretty convincing argument to be honest.

Fuck Walmart.

 

[cpnhowdy]

I believe alot of the hatred toward Walmart is due to their success.
There doesnt seem to be as much hatred toward Target. Just guessing

Whether it be Walmart, Target or some other private company would be better than gov handling it. A private company must offer better service and/or better pricing or you and I will take our business somewhere else.
Big gov does not have to and will just offer crappy service, higher prices, lower quality and a shitload of bureaucracy.

I have to agree with Dave on this and also ask how would govenment handle better?

 

[RenegadeDave]

Meanwhile, you have politicians like this:



pulling the strings in washington. This is why I don't trust the government to do anything. The greatest thing a lot of the people in washington can do is win elections, that's it.

It's a miracle some of these assholes can tie there shoes by themselves and walk into the House chamber by themselves. Maxine Waters, Barney Frank, Pelosi, etc.

Most recently to the government's list of failures is bailing out AIG with no strings attached money. AIG honors their contracts and pays bonuses with bailout money. OH SNAP! Now congress and the president are pissed because they didn't have the foresight to really noodle out meaningful legislation and just railroaded the bill through. Lawyers commenting on several shows I've watched have said there is no judicial precedent that the government can recover the money they're essentially pissing away.