U.S. grants $1.2 billion for electronic health records

steven johnson

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Thu Aug-20-09 06:08 AM
Original message

U.S. grants $1.2 billion for electronic health records

Edited on Thu Aug-20-09 06:09 AM by steven johnson

Obama originally said electronic medical records would save $80 billion per year. Actually, electronic medical records increase the cost of medical record keeping.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123681586452302125.html

Electronic medical records are unlikely to save money and no one has shown a cost savings so far.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2005/september/projected_savings_fr.php

Computers in the classroom were going to revolutionize learning. Hogwash. Computers have been oversold and underused.(Cuban, 2001, p.179)

Http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm/files/paper_31732.ppt?fuseaction=Reader.DownloadPresentation&paper_id=31732&paperfile_id=54895

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday announced grants of almost $1.2 billion to help hospitals and healthcare providers implement and use electronic health records.

The Obama administration has made the overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system the centerpiece of its domestic agenda, including the use of technology to improve efficiency and cut costs.

The grants include $598 million to set up some 70 health information technology centers to help healthcare institutions acquire electronic health record systems and $564 million to develop a nationwide system of health information networks, Vice President Joe Biden's office said in a statement.

"Electronic health records can help reduce medical errors, make healthcare more efficient and improve the quality of medical care for all Americans."

U.S. grants $1.2 billion for electronic health records

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MannyGoldstein

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Thu Aug-20-09 06:20 AM
Response to Original message

1. The VA and Britain's NHS Have Electronic Health Records

And they both provide excellent care - however, the big advantage in these two cases is that everyone's tied into the same system. Obama's plan doesn't push everyone on the same system, so different docs will use different systems, and the benefits won't be realized.

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LaurenG

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Thu Aug-20-09 06:29 AM
Response to Original message

2. EHR is not money or time saving for physicians.

The software is quite expensive. The plus side is that health information will be more readily available and will keep more accurate records. It will also keep track of when patients are due for their next visits etc.

It may save money on malpractice insurance and malpractice claims in the future. Otherwise its a long tedious process to convert paper to electronic and has a very steep learning/implementation curve. x(

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fasttense

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Thu Aug-20-09 06:46 AM
Response to Original message

3. I would think go from paper to electronic is a no brainer.

Just about every medium to large organization in the US uses electronic records. Yes, it takes time at first. But the medical community knows this is something they have to do to join the rest of America. I'm surprised they have to force this technology onto Doctors, Hospitals and clinics.

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madrchsod

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Thu Aug-20-09 07:20 AM
Response to Original message

4. 1.2 is the start...

it`s going to take billions more for the system to actually save money.

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