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Transition to Electronic Health Records Could Decrease Patient Care

By Katie Kelley

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 12Feb2011 Word count: 435 Viewed: 575 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

A recent Rand Corporation study suggest that while having electronic medical records can improve care, the transition may be difficult for some patients. According to a study published online in December, 2010 by the American Journal of Managed Care, when systems were newly adopted or complex, the quality of care decreased. However, the study did find that quality of care increased for some types of serious medical problems when hospitals had medical records electronically available.

The Rand Corporation researchers conducted a cohort study using data on hospital electronic health record (EHR) systems from 2003 and 2005, as well as publicly reported hospital quality data from 2004 and 2007. When a basic EHR system was available, they found a 2.6 percent improvement in the quality of care with patients with heart failure, but hospitals trying to adopt advanced EHR systems saw a one percent drop in quality for acute heart attack and a three percent decrease in care for heart failure patients.

Hospitals that were in the process of upgrading its EHR systems to more advanced ones, saw a 1.2 percent decrease in the quality of care for heart attack patients, and a 2.8 percent decrease in quality of care in heart failure patients.

The researchers found that hospitals that already had EHR systems in place appeared to perform better which could account for some of the findings. However, the researchers noted that measuring the success of such systems was problematic, and that better means of assessing how well the systems were performing needs to be developed.

EHR systems are comprised of patient electronic medical records. These records include: patient demographics, patient medical history, patient medications and allergies, and laboratory test results. Also, nurses and physicians can view any radiology images and vital signs that might be associated with a particular patient.

Savings of using EHR systems as opposed to standard paper systems is estimated to be $23 billion per year for Medicare and $31 billion per year for private insurance companies. Using electronic medical records could also help promote evidence-based medicine and increase record keeping and mobility. Also, some aspects of quality of care could be improved. For example, using EHR systems could reduce medical errors.

However, EHR systems are very pricey; most systems cost between $500 and $6,000 per physician. However, one of the reasons Americans pay so much for health care is because of the high administrative costs associated with using standard, paper systems, so switching to EHR systems could save money in the long-run. Also, learning the new system can be time-consuming and many physicians feel that adopting a new EHR system actually reduces clinical productivity.

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