It also requires the patient to make a more careful decision if and when to seek care since they are spending their own funds rather than those of a nameless, faceless third-party entity. At present, they only cover electronic records, not the paper records that make up most of medical information. A General Accounting Office review of public comment on these new rules show that, while there is considerable support for the aims of the rules, there are concerns that they could be too costly and, in some cases, impede quality health care. Others believe the rules will have a negative effect on detecting and reporting medical errors. Comprehensive federal legislation, if and when enacted, is likely to include all forms of medical information and eliminate the present conflict among various state rules and regulations.
Medical errors are both common and costly.
2000 Private Firm Announces Genetic Milestone Celera Genomics, a private company headquartered in suburban Rockville, Maryland, reported that it has completed a major step in their attempt to map the human genetic code. They indicate that they have completed the sequencing phase of one person's genetic code and will now begin to assemble the genetic fragments into their proper order. The human genome is a biological map laying out the exact sequence of the estimated 3.5 billion pairs of chemicals that make up the DNA in each human cell. Understanding the massive series of genes that provide the code for life could serve as the foundation for new medical cures and preventive tests. Because of the potential financial windfall involved, Celera is striving to finish the coding ahead of the federally funded Human Genome Project.