Electronic Health Records Save Billions

President Obama has set forth a commitment toNo more phone calls between doctors, waiting for
creating the ubiquitous use of electronic healthresults to be sent or conflicting reports.
records within the next five years. This is actuallyPresident Obama sees the use of electronic health
a reaffirmation and acceleration of the Bushcare records as a way to reduce duplication of
commitment slated for 2014. In any case,services. This takes place at all health care
electronic health records are supposed to savefacilities from the largest university hospitals down
our country and our health care system billions ofto local institutions like Braidwood Hospital. Every
dollars.single doctor's office and hospital is subject to the
Currently, the majority of health care records arecomplexities of paperwork and the needless
maintained on paper. Millions of sheets of paperduplication it can create. Every other hospital can
contain all aspects of an individual's health carebenefit tremendously from the implementation of
experiences. From the time you sign in at theelectronic health records.
doctor's office to the time you walk out with thatElectronic health records can reduce the waste
needed prescription, dozens of sheets of paperand ineffective use of drugs in many situations.
have recorded the related events. It doesn't endThese records can tie all of the participating
there. You take your prescription on paper to thedoctors and staff together into a coordinated
pharmacy where it is processed using thecare approach. One agreed upon approach, not
traditional combination of paper and computer. Weseveral tangents subject to the stroke of a pen.
create unnecessary duplicate records of theThe savings are immense. If the entire system is
transactions even when computers are available.slated to recoup billions of dollars, hospitals such as
In a new world of computerized health records,the Kankakee County Hospital could save millions
you may not even need your insurance cardover several years. The money could go toward
anymore. By using any typical form ofimproving facilities and patient care. Every care
identification, the health care worker can pull upfacility from Braidwood Hospital to the major
your insurance information on the spot. Approvalsuniversity teaching hospitals would experience a
for procedures and medications would berelief in their already strained budgets.
streamlined and likely instantaneous. MoreIt will be a long road ahead. The computer
importantly, an individual's care would besystems need to be put in place. Following that, all
coordinated. For example, doctors and staff fromof the patient data needs to be carefully entered.
Braidwood Illinois Hospital and similar institutionsThere are bound to be errors along the way but
would be sharing the same database of chartswe need to start now. The use of electronic
and medical information that another hospital had.health records is critically needed.