U.S. Will Offer Doctors Free Electronic Records System

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: July 21, 2005 8:57:51 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: U.S. Will Offer Doctors Free Electronic Records System



U.S. Will Offer Doctors Free Electronic Records System

By GINA KOLATA
July 21, 2005

There is no one in medicine who does not consider it both crucial and
long overdue to have electronic records in doctor's offices and
hospitals.

With electronic files, patient records are not stuck on pieces of
paper in endless files, but are on a screen at the touch of a key.
The computers alert doctors to do medical tests and avert errors by
warning when they write a prescription for the wrong drug or the
wrong dose. Patients can often see their own files and even make
their own appointments, online, from their homes.

But most doctors have balked. The systems cost tens of thousands of
dollars, and doctors worry that the companies selling them and
providing support will go out of business. Many use computers to file
health insurance claims, but only 20 percent to 25 percent of the
nation's 650,000 licensed doctors outside the military and the
Department of Veterans Affairs are using electronic patient records.

Now, however, Medicare, which says the lack of electronic records is
one of the biggest impediments to improving health care, has decided
to step in. In an unprecedented move, it said it planned to announce
that it would give doctors - free of charge - software to computerize
their medical practices. An office with five doctors could save more
than $100,000 by choosing the Medicare software rather than buying
software from a private company, officials say.

The program begins next month, and the software is a version of a
well-proven electronic health record system, called Vista, that has
been used for two decades by hospitals, doctors and clinics with the
Department of Veterans Affairs. Medicare will also provide a list of
companies that have been trained to install and maintain the system.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/21/health/21records.html? 
ex=1279598400&en=65d75ef0b6ef2340&ei=5090



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