one of the reasons medical costs have soared is because the US made medical records this private, sacred, nobody knows, nobody talks about,
thing.........
that's what your medical history is. this sacred
thing.
and it wasn't always like this. pharmaceutical and medical supply companies thrive on this. one of the reasons they command such high margins and they've done so remarkably well is that we've been led to believe our medical records should be something private. like if having some health issue was a MISTAKE.
this makes EVERY doctor, even for the most mundane of cases, suggest their patients have MRI's, bloodwork, x-rays, urinalysis, fecal samples, physical exams.... the list keeps on going. all of this to avoid malpractice lawsuits. it makes health care more EXPENSIVE. it would be easily avoidable if open medical records existed. but no. we were led to believe that medical records are sacred. THAT IS A LIE.
now, in other nations, privacy laws are abit more lax. they understand that medical issues are something NOBODY should be ashamed of. it's perfectly natural, and it's NOT A MISTAKE.
they have been using electronic medical records for several years, and they even have computer software which 'converts' information stored in one information system to other formats, so that regardless of where in the country you are, when you walk into a doctors office, they have complete records of everything.
this drives prices down, because the defensive, wasteful medicine practiced in the US is not encouraged.
i don't know of a single doctor who has said: man, i wish it was a lot harder to get my patients medical history. no. they all wish it was a lot easier, because this way medicine would be a lot more straight forward.
go ahead, hide under a rock......