NHS Electronic Patient Records System May be on the Chopping Block
Britain’s National Health Service has spent billions of pounds to create the first national electronic patient health records system. The TimesOnline is now reporting that the system may be scrapped because it is “not essential for the front line” and the government “underestimated the challenges involved in the project.” The program is reputed to be the largest non-military IT project in the world.
Since U.S. politicians apparently cannot learn from history, it appears that the electronic patient record sections of the House and Senate health care bills are doomed to repeat it, at great cost and expense.
This is about the only site I know of where one can read about the down side of EMRs. I know there is an upside as well. But at least the coverage here is more balanced.
Thanks, Linda. Good post, as usual.
For health IT to work, it has to be an integral part of a clinic’s business model. All too often, physicians and clinics have a disincentive to implement these systems. Done poorly, health IT could actually increase medical errors and decrease efficiency.