The nation is set to begin an ambitious program, backed by $19 billion in government incentives, to accelerate the adoption of computerized patient records in doctors’ offices and hospitals, replacing ink and paper. 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 way electronic medical records are used now has not yet had a real impact on the quality or cost of health care,” said Dr. Ashish K. Jha, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the research project.
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Little Benefit Seen, So Far, in Electronic Patient Records - NYTimes.com Sawickipedia: So one of the major initiatives to save health care costs doesn’t save any money. I will not all be surprised if ObamaCare will be to Obama and the Dem’s what the Iraq War was to Bush and the Repub’s: an ideological crusade whose benefits will or were speculative at best and grossly negligent in review. |
