First Came The Paper Reduction Act… Followed by LOTS More Paper

That was way back in 1980

Congress enacted, way back in 1980, something called the Paper Reduction Act. The idea was to get federal agencies (and, hopefully, others) to stop using so much damn paper when doing so was unnecessary.

Using tons and reams of paper has become ever-more unnecessary as personal and office computers have become all the rage — often, in the process, enraging their users due to their lack of ‘user friendliness’,

Still…

It seems odd then, that someone in the CMS (Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services) world somewhere along the line deemed it a good idea — a necessity, in fact — for medical facilities (down to your local dentist’s office) to generate REAMS of paper relative to each and every patient.

While it is not uncommon for a new patient at a medical office to have to provide a page or 1.5 pages of personal and insurance data, my wife’s new dentist — who did a spectacular job, BTW, getting an infected molar out and her back to me in less than half an hour — also required her to complete “nine or ten,” she says, pages of … what? What on earth would a dentist’s office need with nine (nevermind ten) pages of …whatever… from a new patient?

I’m a Frequent Visitor to Med Facilities

I’m on dialysis (because my kidneys decided to check out WAY before I aim to do so). It’s not uncommon…