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New York Times editorial chastises U.S. physicians for slow EHR adoption

EHR Connection, July 21, 2008

Adoption of EHRs by American physicians is disturbingly slow and if the conversion from paper to modern technology doesn’t accelerate, promises of healthcare reform will become irrelevant, according to an editorial in the June 24 edition of The New York Times.
 
A survey of 2,700 practicing physicians in the United States found that only 4% had “fully functional” electronic records systems that enable them to write prescriptions, view laboratory data, and facilitate clinical decisions, according to the editorial. Another 13% had more basic systems.
 
The contrast with other industrialized nations is startling, the newspaper said in its editorial. A 2006 survey found that nearly all physicians in The Netherlands and the vast majority in Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand use electronic medical records.
 
“Computers and information-sharing technologies have increased productivity and cut costs in other industries and are being applied in major medical centers,” according to the editorial. “It is time to drag private physicians out of the paper age.”
 
Click here to read The New York Times editorial.

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