More Doctors Using Electronic Medical Records

The uptake of electronic health records for managing patient information has hit a milestone.

• The federal Department of Health and Human Services says more than half of American doctors now use EHRs.
• The move from paper-based records to electronic records marks a change that could improve patient care, add to quality and help contain costs.
• Health care leaders have long advocated electronic health records systems as a central piece of modernizing our health system.

More than half of doctors have now switched to electronic health records.

• EHR systems keep patients’ medical information.  They also enable electronic prescriptions to be issued.
• These systems remind doctors when a prescribed medicine could cause problems because of another prescription the patient is taking.
• More than 291,000 providers have received reimbursement through an electronic records incentive program.  That figure represents 55 percent of office-based doctors and other providers.
• Also, 3,880 hospitals now use EHR systems.
• Starting in 2015, providers who don’t use EHRs will see their federal reimbursements shaved slightly for still using paper-based records.

The future holds even more integration of EHRs into healthcare.

• Beyond vital signs, height and weight, electronic records are becoming even more routine in hospitals and doctor’s offices.
• The next stage involves sharing information with other providers who are treating the same patient.  EHRs could remind patients of scheduled appointments, doctors’ instructions and summaries of office visits.
• Such electronic records may not completely replace paper forms and records.  But enabling information access for different providers at different locations and different stages of someone’s treatment can help improve quality and consistency of care, as well as increase efficiency — adding cost savings to the list of EHRs’ benefits.

The rapid progress of electronic medical records systems being incorporated into healthcare signals that a real turning point has been reached.  EHRs are still being improved and their usage adapted and refined.  This remains a work in progress.  Doctors have voiced legitimate concerns about typing in information while talking with a patient.  But overall, EHRs should be a net improvement toward instilling in our health system a culture of safety and quality.