Electronic Health Records are being looked at and tested as one of the Holy Grails of medical care and cost containment. The theory is that EHR’s will increase care and reduce cost. This is part of a yet unformed strategy of Universal Health Care which is the democratic ideal, that every special interest is fighting tooth and nail. From Insurance Companies to Drug Companies and Hospital chains, blocking any attempt to derail the current system is at the top of their to do lists.
Two items that demonstrate this disconnect are an article at the Nation by Kate Michelman, “A System From Hell”, where she describes her journey through the health care system, and e-Patient Dave whose website e-Patients.net is reporting on moving his health records to Google Health. It is not a pretty picture.
EMR in US will take many years of struggle and maybe many failures like this one. However, there are always things to be learned and we hope that move us closer each time we fails.