Electronic Medical Records Management

There's a new article hosted on LoHud.com about the evolution, uses and practicality of electronic document management for medical facilities. Sparked on by recent news that President-Elect Obama hopes to re-organize the countries medical records into a more streamlined, digital-database, this author examines what that might mean, how it might go and how the idea has evolved so far. GRM has handled electronic and hard-copy document management programs for hospitals and medical facilities for years, and it's always interesting to hear what people in the area have to say about it.

From the article:

"Data-based medicine and electronic records-keeping are not new concepts. President George W. Bush insisted in his January 2004 State of the Union address that "by computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs and improve care.'' His goal: Ensure that "most Americans have electronic health records within the next 10 years.'' The effort has had only modest success. The nonprofit Commonwealth Fund issued a report in July that found 98 percent of doctors in the Netherlands and 89 percent in Great Britain use EMR - compared with 28 percent of U.S. physicians. Early last month, slightly better use was reported: Just under 39 percent of U.S. doctors use electronic medical records, the National Center for Health Statistics found; yet only 4 percent of 2,000 doctors questioned said their systems were fully functional."