Electronic Medical Records Providing Little Benefit Thus Far

The federal government has been encouraging the transition of computerized patient records, mostly by providing $19 billion in government incentive to push physicians to change from paper records to electronic records (EMRs). There is wide agreement that the conversion will bring better care and lower costs, saving the American health care system up to $100 billion a year by some estimates.

But a new study comparing 3,000 hospitals at various stages in the adoption of computerized health records has found little difference in the cost and quality of care.

The research underlines the challenge facing the Obama administration as it seeks to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records through 2015, even though only about 20 percent of physicians now use them. And the research shows that installing the technology does not necessarily mean that the hoped-for gains in quality and cost containment will follow quickly.

Read the full article at The New York Times, or click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/16records.html?_r=2