Switch to Electronic Health Records Could Miss Federal Targets

Federal health officials said Wednesday they have cut billions of dollars from the projected cost of a program to push doctors and hospitals to use electronic medical records, suggesting their previous estimates overstated the number of health care providers likely to adopt the technology.

The goal to create a digital health record for every American in the next five years was first set under President George W. Bush. The project picked up steam in the Obama administration, which regards it as vital to controlling soaring health care costs.

By Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz
30 December 2009

Can Cleveland Clinic Be a Model for Digital Medicine?

The prestigious Cleveland Clinic is being held up as a model for the benefits of digitizing medical records. Yet the hospital’s experience also yields some cautionary lessons for the Obama administration’s $45 billion plan to stimulate adoption of a national system.

By Emma Schwartz1 December 2009

Survey: Hospitals Not Protecting Electronic Health Records

Despite new federal laws to protect the privacy of medical files, many hospitals are ill-prepared to prevent security breaches that may result in patient records being stolen, lost or misused, a new survey shows. 

Three in four hospitals and health organizations said medical records of patients had been put at risk of improper disclosure “due to inadequate security controls, policies or procedures,” according to the survey released Thursday at a meeting of government health information planners in Washington. 

By Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz
19 November 2009

Stimulus Fuels Gold Rush for Electronic Health Systems

The government’s $45 billion plan to jump-start a national shift to electronic medical records has touched off a gold rush among scores of technology firms – even as many experts question whether the benefits of the products are being oversold.

By Fred Schulte5 November 2009