The Internet provides an example of how a federally developed system can become the standard and infrastructure which supports a vast complex. If it wasn't for this we'd probably be locked into propietary systems like compuserve and AOL and even email would be clumsy.

Health care is increasingly based on computer based management. The potential is awesome. It can reduce time nurses and others spend entering data (often 50 percent of their time,) make information easily lost availible, reduce redundancy in testing (10- to 20% of tests are unnecessary) ... then there is the 35% of resources currently spent on administration: automated billing, routine approvals of procedures...

It is not unrealistic to talk about total sums of several hundredd billions per year. Add to this with examination of millions of patient recoirds in standardized formats, automated surveys (which at least provide a feel) of various treatments and outcomes are possible. Knowing what will work on who it will work is a big problem with medicine, the research money is inadequete and the system itself could provide it.

Right now computer systems are provided by a hodge podge of vendors, there is little integration, often incompetence. I can think of a number of hospitals that wasted tens of milions. The market is less than ideal.

It sems to me to be worth the risk to have the federal government organize the process of finding out what should be done, examine existing products, set up plans and start putting out a system (which would include standard interfaces for additions.) The system would be integrated, tested in VA and military hospitals then provided free to all hospitals, doctors and health providers. One advantage of a standardized system would be many more billons saved in reduced training.

This can be done we've had successful huge governmental software projects. There are a huge number of models to wok with including Gnu/Linux. Right now most hospitals are still heavily bound to paper, there is minimal integration and successfully done this could reduce costs 10 percent or more in area after area. And building in features like checking for mismatched dugs could save thousands of the hundred tjousand or so yearly lost to medical mistake. A well designed system could evan allow AI writers to tag on useful tools.

This is a vast project, but probably significantly cheaper, less complex and more valuable than even a mission to the moon much less Mars. If dealt with s a hih priority my guess is that significant parts cold be up and availible within 2 years (here are some producets which can be purchased) and it would not surprise me if total savings equalled a hundred billion or more per year rather quickly for a much smaller investment.

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