In the United States, the topic of electronic medical records has popped back to the top of the agenda, due to an impending mass injection of government money.
CMS Watch (03/11/09) Pelz-Sharpe, Alan
As a late adopter, the
U.S. can potentially benefit from experiences in the UK, which has long been
pushing the benefits of and investing heavily in electronic medical records. Two
key areas will likely tax the Obama Administration as they move forward with
their initiative. First, it is assumed that moving to electronic records will by
default deliver efficiency and cost benefits, but such benefits are difficult to
quantify. Second, patients are highly sensitive to two things -- errors and
privacy. Errors, when they are digitally generated, can often be replicated far
more often and more easily than their analog equivalent. And it is easier to
find unprotected confidential electronic records than hard copy alternatives.
The money for electronic medical records should go into the analysis,
re-engineering, and change management. ECM is 20% technology and 80% process.
Read
the complete article.