Monday, November 16, 2009

EHR is not a panacea, Mr President

From the AUA Daily Scope

"Study finds little benefit to date in electronic patient records.
The New York Times (11/16, B3, Lohr) reports that a study to be presented Nov. 16 at a medical conference "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." Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health conducted "a follow-on study to a survey of hospitals' adoption of electronic health records, published this year and financed by the federal government." The authors found that "differences...were 'really, really marginal,'" and suggested that "government policies should focus on helping physicians, hospitals, and the public health system use the technology more effectively." "

Frankly, I am not the least bit surprised.

The IU