Although the federal government plans to use $19 billion of the economic stimulus package to facilitate increased adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), some obstacles remain. The Los Angeles Times reports one 10-physician practice that adopted EHRs 3½ years ago has been able to eliminate tens of thousands of manila files and reduce its record-keeping staff from seven to three. The office also eliminated 2½ positions in its billing department because clerks no longer have to review handwritten notes. However, the upfront costs of implementing EHRs can be high—as much as $30,000 per physician, and interoperability across competing records systems remains low. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been tasked with developing a set of standards for EHRs by the end of 2009. Watch for an in-depth article on EHRs in the April issue of AAOS Now.
October 2011
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March 17, 2009
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