THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOUR CREDIT NOW

[CatWoman]

By Bob Sullivan / MSNBC

The folks who invented the credit score for lenders are hard at work developing a similar tool for hospitals and other health care providers.

The project, dubbed “MedFICO” in some early press reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score. They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health care that patients receive.

Fair Issac Corp., developer of the FICO credit score, is one of several investors in Healthcare Analytics, the Massachusetts start-up that is developing the hospital risk tool. Another investor is Tenet Healthcare Corp, one of the nation's largest hospital operators. Stephen Farber, who resigned as chief financial officer of Tenet in 2004, is the CEO of Healthcare Analytics.

Several published reports have described Healthcare Analytics product as a MedFICO score, computed in a way that would be familiar to those who've used credit scores. The firm is gathering payment history information from large hospitals around the country, according to a magazine called Inside ARM, aimed at “accounts receivable management” professionals. It will then analyze that data to predict how likely patients will be to pay future medical bills. As with credit reports and scores, patients who've failed to pay past bills will be deemed less likely to pay future bills.

The idea sounds ominous to Pam Dixon, who runs the World Privacy Forum, which studies medical privacy issues.

"This is a bad idea and I don't think this benefits the consumer at all," Dixon said. "And what about victims of medical ID theft? Are we going to deny treatment to these people because they have a terrible MedFICO score?"

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10770

[rox63]

1. WTF? You know this will be used to deny care to people who need it

:grr: :banghead: :nuke: :puke:

[avaistheone1]

2. That does it! I'm outraged already today.

:nuke:

[Fridays Child]

3. This is insane!

[HereSince1628]

4. Welcome to capitalism. We profit at making life better for those that make profits

In a nation that already pays 30% more than other developed nations this will be very useful to someone...

[halobeam]

5. Reality trumps Koonz and King.

[madinmaryland]

6. What ever happened to the "Hypocratic Oath"?

:(

[CountAllVotes]

7. I call it the "hypocritcal oath"

and _ them!

:kick:

[elias7]

10. The OP is misleading. This has nothing to do with doctors.

As a physician, I can tell you that we have little control or input over how administration and billing choose to do their jobs. We travel in different realms, and though it is vogue to blame doctors for being hypocritical, we have nothing to do with this.

[Lars39]

11. There are doctors that own their own clinics.

[elias7]

13. my understanding is that this isn't for clinics, but for hospitals

There are some physician owned specialty hospitals, but not with Emergency departments and the usual admission policies. My point was that often on medical issues, docs get lumped in with the bad guys, when we're just trying to do our job without regard to patient income, race, insurance status, gender, etc.

[Lars39]

14. Clinics would be clamoring for this service.

[elias7]

15. Do you know? Or are you speculating based on no information...

[KT2000]

16. Whoever pays for the data

will likely get it, whether they are doctors, clinics, drug companies, future employers, credit card companies and insurance companies .
Potential employers can purchase FICO scores as well as insurance companies and credit card companies.

The people who develop these products want to sell them to as many people as possible - it's about the money they make selling subscriptions to their service.
They will likely not be held responsible for how the info is used - even if is for the purpose of denying medical care.

Could you doctors call a strike for decency? This system is broken.

[elias7]

19. A strike for decency? Perhaps not a bad idea...

It is an idea I'll try to get me head around. It is sort of like our current political situation. So much broken, hard to know where and how to start, while still working full time, raising a family, no free time, etc. But thanks...

[niyad]

8. I am so very glad I have nothing to do with western corporate medicine

[mzmolly]

9. Jasus Freaking Kriste!

Just when you think it can't get any more bizarre living in this country ...

[Bake]

12. And this is yet another reason to have single payor!!

Like the rest of the democratized, developed world.

See Sicko.

Bake

[Hugabear]

17. "I'm sorry - you can't afford to live...

...Bring in the next (rich) patient, please."

[Orwellian_Ghost]

18. K&R n/t