Extensive resources are required for its implementation, but there is a strong case that bar-code medication-verification technology should be a required practice for demonstrating "meaningful use" of health information technology under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Amidst discussions of how to maximize physician contributions in high-risk disaster situations, the author asks if doctors are actually duty-bound to contribute at all.
Physicians have a duty to learn the facts and use their medical expertise to allay patients' fears rather than order unnecessary tests when a certain disease or condition receives a great deal of media coverage.