Mr. Levitt also called on the Financial Standards Accounting Board to pass new accounting rules quickly. He also asked both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Public Oversight Board to review whether auditors should change the procedures in performing an annual audit. Commissioner Levitt listed a total of nine actions he wants taken by accountants, the SEC, corporations, Wall Street, and investors. He wants investors and stock analysts to punish the stocks of corporations exposed telling half-truths. A front-page article in the October 2nd issue of The Wall Street Journal examines efforts by software firms to solve the problems that have resulted from the torrent of medical information physicians must deal with every day.
Physicians complain that they are drowning in paper.
One software company featured in the article, Healtheon Corporation, has embarked on an ambitious project to fix the chaos of medical paperwork. Medical information problems begin with the fragmented nature of medical data. There is no master databank for patients, and privacy advocates don't want one. Instead, limited information is scattered among doctors, insurers, labs, pharmacies, and employers. Data quality is erratic, and many parties don't trust the others enough to share information freely.