Viewpoint

It’s been a long time since I expected anything other than glossed over, sound bite journalism from the mainstream media, so Good Morning America’s sophomoric May 28 "report" titled "Does Telemedicine Work?" really shouldn’t distress me, but it does.

Axioms can be illuminating. Take, for example, the project manager’s credo: "Fast, good or cheap — choose any two. You cannot have all three." This is sometimes referred to as the Circle of Reality, though in some circles, reality is optional.

Not long ago, doctors made house calls. How nice it must have been to be treated by one’s doctor in one’s own bed, with family about and chicken soup on the boil. No lying in tiled hallways, clinging to cold metal tables waiting on overworked ED staff. Physicians had time to bond with patients and build relationships. Could that era come again? Possibly.

With the recent opening of the "Hospital Compare" Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may be leading the race to transparency in healthcare and, consequently, to consumerism.