I have recently had a very real, very personal experience regarding the value of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). My mother suffered a stroke over a year ago but is largely recovered and living independently in the Southeast. While visiting a daughter in Texas she had an unexplained “episode” for which she would have visited her primary care physician. Because she was away from home and thus with no medical history that followed her, she chose not to visit the emergency room as the immediate symptoms had passed. Unfortunately, she had a repeat episode that was a bit more severe and was whisked away to the local emergency room outside of Dallas. She was subjected to a whole battery of tests, from simple bloodwork to a full MRI in an attempt to diagnose her symptoms. We are still awaiting the results. Had the doctors at the medical facility in Texas been in possession of her full medical history, they may have much more quickly (and possibly much more inexpensively) diagnosed her condition.

At the most basic level, EMRs are digital documentation of a doctor visit, including patient histories, exam notes, tests ordered, drugs prescribed, and any test results. Some systems check for drug interactions, access X-rays, or deliver a prompt when a patient has not had a flu shot. The preventive aspects alone can save millions of dollars and thousands of hospitalizations. The problem with our current situation is the incentive system at play. Doctors get paid for service, not wellness. EMRs require time and money to implement for which doctors are not compensated.

Privacy Concerns have dogged the adoption of Electronic Medical Records but EMRs allow for a number of very real advantages. People with significant or lengthy health / medical records often find it hard to shop for doctors. EMRs allow an easier transfer of information for people seeking specialists and can greatly reduce the number of expensive tests required for a person.

Doctors can debate, but it looks as if Electronic Medical Recprds are here for the longterm. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act states that every American should have an electronic medical record by 2014. The Obama administration is looking to speed the transition by providing financial incentives, up to $65,000 apiece to eligible physicians, starting in 2011.

Wired magazine has a good article about EMRs that further discusses additional ramifications and concerns.

For a somewhat opposing view on the problems with implementing EMRs, BusinessWeek has an interesting story.