To start with, a short summary of “Use of Electronic Health Records in U.S. Hospitals”, published on the New England Journal of Medicine (April 2009, number 16). They surveyed all acute care hospitals that are members of the American Hospital Association for the presence of specific electronic-record functionalities. On the basis of responses from 63.1% of hospitals surveyed (3049 hospitals), only 1.5% of U.S. hospitals have a comprehensive electronic-records system (i.e., present in all clinical units), and an additional 7.6% have a basic system (i.e., present in at least one clinical unit). Computerized provider-order entry for medications has been implemented in only 17% of hospitals. Among hospitals without electronic-records systems, the most commonly cited barriers were inadequate capital for purchase (74%), concerns about maintenance costs (44%), resistance on the part of physicians (36%), unclear return on investment (32%) and lack of availability of staff with adequate expertise in information technology (30%). The very low levels of adoption of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals suggest that policymakers face substantial obstacles to the achievement of health care performance goals that depend on health information technology. Read the rest of this entry »