I, too, am a self-employed medical transcriptionist. I'm appalled that so many physicians in the Tampa Bay area are sending medical reports to other countries for transcription. I believe doctors should be legally bound to inform patients if their personal information is going beyond the geographical borders of the United States. Furthermore, how does HIPAA plan to make other countries comply with U.S. laws and regulations while engaged in "stateside business?"
Additionally, I'm sure the doctors and medical offices engaged in this practice would like us to believe that there is a shortage of transcriptionists in this country, but I'm certain the real issue is cheap labor. In actuality, I personally know of a Tampa Bay-based transcription company that recently lost a large neurological/neurosurgical account because that group of doctors decided to use a transcription company in the Philippines that was willing to do the work for less money. Consequently, this local company has had to lay off several transcriptionists. It's becoming clear that physicians, and the medical industry in general, have more regard for the lining of their pockets than the privacy of their patients.
I found your article most informative, but I was a little confused by the section entitled "Hillary Health Care." Though Charlotte A. Twight is quoted as saying "Many of the provisions that are most worrisome in HIPAA were literally copied verbatim from the Health Security Act (HSA)," there is nothing in the article that supports this statement. In fact, the only two examples cited in your article ("As HSA would have done … stops the insidious practice of insurance companies dropping members who filed expensive claims …" and "As HSA would have done … enforces the standardization of medical data, the creation of personal medical IDs for every American, and the institution of strict penalties for healthcare workers who do not adhere to federal regulations …" are actually positive aspects of HIPAA that came from the former first lady's proposal.
Thanks for the fine writing and for getting this important information out there.
—Bridget A. Sermon, Via e-mailYou run this article about rapacious American consumer culture. This elicits some inspired responses from readers ("So we gave Aunt Betty a subscription to The Nation so she'll have progressive reading matter instead of those — ugh — tabloids."). Then a subsequent issue features a multipage holiday gift buying guide, which includes the standard consumer toys; not to mention your rag is chockfull of advertisements, the back pages running glossy sex ads, the mother of all commodities. You may decry rampant consumerism, but without it your revenue would melt like a snowball in Tucson. Do we have a tiny little problem with hypocrisy here?
— Ray Zacek, Tampa
I would like to add an important shopping habit that everyone can establish to cut down on our country's waste, not only during the holiday season, but throughout the year. Putting already packaged goods into plastic bags for the trip home creates an immense amount of unnecessary waste. Instead of loading your groceries and gifts into plastic bags, invest in a few durable canvas bags. Get into the habit of using these by keeping them in the car with you.
Sure, the department store cashier might think you're a bit strange when you ask to have the purchase put into a provided canvas bag. I do it all the time and see it as a chance to briefly explain the cause.
Since the world could die because of the way we live in North America, let's break this absurd consumptive ritual by setting an example and doing our parts. Give canvas bags as gifts!
—Emily Fingar, Via e-mail
Correction
Firesign Theater's David Ossman and Second City's Dick Schaal have appeared on WMNF-88.5 FM's Sixty-Second Radio Hour, by Matthew Cowley. A recent news item misspelled their names.
Send a letter attention Editor, 1310 E. Ninth Ave., Tampa 33605, or to letters@ weeklyplanet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and grammar. Letters must be signed and include phone number.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2002.
