Aside from the exceptional medical care and evaluations provided in the office, more patients have also appreciated the due diligence that Dr. Castellanos gives in protecting medical records and identity.
In light of recent events regarding the breach of Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, patients have come to realize how important it is that Dr. Castellanos has resisted the efforts of the government to push towards the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as the only existing form of record keeping. His main reason in doing so for the past few years was a matter of security and desire to protect his patients privacy. His judgment proved to be right as due to the most recent hacking incident involving Anthem, consumers’ information were stolen which include, but not limited to, “names, birthdays, medical IDs, social security numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses and employment information, including income data,” according to CNN. (for more info, click here)
The ironic thing about this situation is that the government is forcing(bullying) physicians to use EHRs, which are digital versions of a patient’s paper charts. Physicians that do not adopt this form of record keeping are penalized by cutting reimbursement rates by 1%, which can rise to a maximum of 5% in 10 years. According to Wall-Street Journal, this “rule raises health-care costs even as it means doctors see fewer patients while providing worse care.” (for more info, click here).
