The Buckets by Greg Cravens for August 30, 2023

To err is human, to forgive, divine, to really foul things up takes a computer

I often pick the wrong portal.

I could hear the /s

My doctor is part of the hospital. The portal for my doctor is different than the portal for the hospital, which makes no sense to me.

I sure hope so.

Suuure they are!

That’s right up there with, “The check is in the mail.”

Thanks for installing that tinge of doubt.

The first company to market online medical record systems was custom-designing them for each large medical group but not making them so they could communicate with each other. Eventually, our local hospital got fined millions after they failed to upgrade in time to a system that could share patient information with doctors outside their system. One of my kids while in grad school was given that software company’s history as a case study in what not to do.

I’m sure they are very careful, until they are not. And someone, low level up to high level, opens that unknown link and there goes your information. At least three letters from three different groups this year about a medical data breach on myself &/or my spouse. And one for my mom, who passed away a decade ago. OY! Better off with paper records.

How appropriate. One of our local doctor and hospital systems recently had a ransomeware attack. The entire system including phones was out of service for a month! We keep signing those HIPAA forms but what good does that do to keep our information private when the system is easily hacked?