MIT hosts EmTech08 Conference

A panel of EHR experts addressed topics such as privacy, interoperability, liability, and physician reimbursement at the recent EmTech08 Conference at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, SearchCIO.com reported October 8.

 

John D. Halamka, MD, Harvard Medical School CIO and dean of technology, said during the conference that American physicians have been slow to adopt health information technology, the online newsletter reported. Only 15–18% of physicians nationwide use EHRs, but that percentage climbs to 50% in Massachusetts, where e-health is high on the state’s agenda, said Halamka, also CIO of CareGroup, Inc., and chairman of the New England Healthcare Electronic Data Interchange Network.

 

“The incentives are not aligned,” Halamka told conferees. Physicians spend $40,000–$60,000 to implement EHRs and can expect productivity to drop by 25% during the first six months of use.

 

Click here to read the SearchCIO.com article.