by Gerald D. Klee, MD, Editor
[Fall 1997; Vol.24 No. 3]
We’ve been anxious about confidentiality of patient information in Maryland Health Care Access and Cost Commission data banks. “Not to worry,” we’re assured by the regulators. “You can trust HCACC.”
But if you read HCACC’s 1997 annual report, you’ll find that’s not all we need to worry about. Many of those who have read it believe the statistical data are crude and full of significant inaccuracies.
The text also contains a lot of surprises: One learns there’s too much psychotherapy going on in Maryland (pages 24 and 29), and that money can be saved by substituting (emphasis added) prescription drugs for psychotherapy. We know psychopharmacology is good, but isn’t that going too far? And there’s a strong implication that members of the elderly population are getting too much psychiatric care (page 51)—a strange idea given that the professional literature points strongly in the opposite direction.
We hope these tidbits attract your attention. HCACC is collecting more data from a wider variety of sources for the years ahead. We’ll return to this subject in future issues. Meanwhile, get a copy of the 1997 HCACC report, read it carefully, and see for yourself how far you can trust HCACC.
To obtain a copy of the HCACC report, contact:
Ben Steffen, Deputy Director
Data Systems & Analysis
State of Maryland
Health Care Access and Cost Commission 4201 Patterson Avenue, 5th
Floor
Baltimore, MD 21215
Phone: 410-764-3574 Fax: 410-358-1236