Loss of Common Sense

One of my favorite Meaningful Use Stage 3 requirements is Patient Engagement.  Really???  When does a doctor not have patient engagement?  In the morgue.  This is crazy because it really does not mean PATIENT-DOCTOR interaction...it means PATIENT-EHR interaction.

It is nuts.

Maybe patients should be reading the x-rays; interpreting the labs; discussing findings with consultants.  Who needs doctors anyway?

With the internet, WebMD, Wikipedia, the patient is way smarter than the doctor anyway.  Maybe what we need is a new form of self-care.  The patient can be BOTH patient and doctor  That will really cut costs.  And think of the medical-legal consequences.  The patient has a bad outcome and sues himself.  Whoever is coming up with this stuff needs psychotropic medications.