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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Docs Foresee Trouble With Digitizing Records

For electronic records, money is there but technology isn't

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(Newser) – The administration's push to digitize health records is raising red flags with an important constituency: doctors. "We have a long way to go," said the lead author of a report out today that shows only 9% of hospitals have computerized records. His article is part of a 1-2 punch in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine casting light on the daunting challenge, the New York Times reports.

One major problem is the outmoded systems currently in place, which don't allow input from outside programmers. Spending the $19 billion budgeted for the electronic-records on perpetuating the current model would be a disaster, another team of doctors warns. Says a co-author: "If the government’s money goes to cement the current technology in place, we will have a very hard time innovating in health care reform.”

Dr. Cecil Wilson is in no rush to convert his nearly 5,000 patient charts from paper to digital.
Dr. Cecil Wilson is in no rush to convert his nearly 5,000 patient charts from paper to digital.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
So much diagnostic care is already electronic, the move to computerized medical records seems logical. But the technology isn't quite there, some experts say.
So much diagnostic care is already electronic, the move to computerized medical records seems logical. But the technology isn't quite there, some experts say.   (AP Photo/Michael Holahan)
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If we encourage better performance, then physicians are going to find ways to improve performance. - Harvard Medical School professor
David Blumenthal

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5 comments
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TerrifiedCitizen
Mar 26, 09 11:01 AM CDT
Yes, and they said rock and roll would never last as well. Digital records are coming for all the right reasons and the old boys need to get on the bus. Reply
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Chilblain
Mar 26, 09 3:37 PM CDT
Exactly. How else is BIG PHARMA and other Mega-Corporations gonna get all my private info ?
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Fondue
Mar 26, 09 12:56 PM CDT
Crawl, walk, run, horse, boat, auto, train, plane, battleship, nuclear submarine, radiology, MRIs, brain surgery.....shall I go on? Be part of the solution, or get out of the way. Reply
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atris999
Mar 26, 09 7:37 PM CDT
The problem lies in standardizing medical records and forms. And labyrinthian records are kept for so long. Every office is different, and deciding on a streamlined system is going to be a big headache they'll have to push through. Reply
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riffran
Mar 28, 09 2:31 AM CDT
very good thought there atris999....the standardization is going to be the real issue Reply
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