WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Computerizing medical records could save the U.S. health-care system more than $81 billion a year and improve health care, according to a study by the Rand Health, an independent health policy research program.
"Our findings strongly suggest that it is time for the government and others who pay for healthcare to aggressively promote health information technology," study leader Richard Hillestad, a Rand senior management scientist, said in a prepared statement.
The findings from the two-year study were published Sept. 14 in two articles in the journal Health Affairs, and were funded by companies involved in health information technology. The researchers say it's the most detailed analysis ever conducted of the potential benefits of electronic medical records.
According to Hillestad, the U.S. health care system would save $77 billion annually if 90 percent of doctors and hospitals across the country used health information technologies. Much of those savings would come from shorter hospital stays for patients, more efficient use of nursing staff, and better use of drugs, labs and other resources.
Another $4 billion annually could be saved due to improved safety, with patients and doctors better alerted to prescription errors and other mistakes.
Hillestad's team recommend that the U.S. government speed up efforts to set universal standards for health information technology to encourage wider adoption of electronic medical records. The study authors also suggested that the federal government consider financial incentives to healthcare providers and institutions who use approved electronic medical record systems.
These financial incentives could include increased Medicare payments to doctors and grants to institutions who use the information technology.
"A national system of electronic medical record keeping could take a significant bite out of healthcare costs. These systems are expensive, but it doesn't take long before the benefits surpass the costs. People may choose to take the savings, or savings may be used to provide insurance to the uninsured. Savings might also be invested to make further improvements in the quality of healthcare," Hillestad said.
More information
The American Health Information Management Association has more about personal health records.
