Confronting Health IT Myths

In my role as Sr. Manager for Public Policy Communications at HIMSS, I monitor a lot of news sources to keep an eye on what people are saying about health IT. Unfortunately, I too often come across articles and opinion pieces spreading frightening-sounding information that’s just plain wrong.

The one I’ve seen a lot lately? President Obama wants to know your BMI.

No, he doesn’t. Sure, the president wants Americans to be healthy, but he’s got much better things to do than look over your doctor’s shoulder. And yet the claim that the Obama Administration is compiling health records on individual Americans, and may one day use information like BMI to ration care, was even made in a fundraising letter from a candidate for elected office who surely knows better.

The stimulus bill does call for doctors to collect things like BMI and smoking status on patients as part of an electronic health record, and allows that information to be shared in aggregate with government statisticians. And while the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to facilitate the secure sharing of health information among the various systems currently in existence, the federal government is not constructing a giant health database containing individually identifiable information on anyone. Big Brother is not coming to America in the form of electronic health records.

Have you had to educate misinformed friends and families about the realities of health IT and the stimulus? What have you read that’s made you roll your eyes with frustration? Share your experiences in the comments section and we’ll look forward to tackling more issues in future blog posts!