Electronic Health Records Improve Quality of Care Across Insurance Types
by Jeff Porter
The New England Journal of Medicine
recently released an article regarding research conducted in the Cleveland area on the use of electronic health records in various care settings. Researchers followed the standards of care and outcomes for roughly 27,000 adults with diabetes from July 2009 through June 2010. All the patients had different types of insurance. The patients who were treated at practices that utilized electronic health records experienced greater improvements in both care and outcomes compared to those patients who were treated in practices that employed paper medical records.
The research comes as the federal government’s program to incentivize the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records by medical professionals enters its first year of payments. Eligible medical professionals who adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records may receive reimbursements of either $44,000 under the Medicare program or $63,750 under the Medicaid program over the course of several years. The federal government believes adoption of electronic health records will improve quality and outcomes for patients, while reducing the overall cost of healthcare.
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