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Electronic Medical Records

Increasingly, collections of medical records are stored and shared digitally by multiple medical service providers. RAND research has explored the costs of implementing electronic medical record systems; the benefits accrued, including the improved quality of care; the rate of technology adoption; individual privacy concerns; and the role of government in the use and growth of electronic recordkeeping.

Research conducted by: RAND Health; RAND Europe

Commentary (6)

The Delayed Promise of Health-Care IT — Feb 26, 2013

Globally, the health IT industry should not wait to be forced by government regulators into doing a better job. Developers can boost the pace of adoption by creating more standardized systems that are easier to use, truly interoperable, and afford patients greater access to and control over their personal health data.

Commentary

Medical Records Immune to Tornado in Joplin, Mo. — May 23, 2012

Across the country, electronic medical records, designed first and foremost to make health care delivery safer and more efficient, are proving valuable when disaster strikes, write Mahshid Abir and Art Kellermann.

Commentary

Do Physicians Need a 'Shopping Cart' for Health Care Services? — Feb 22, 2012

Providing physicians with cost data in real time automatically as a part of the electronic medical record could make them better purchasers for their patients and provide better value, writes Robert H. Brook.

Commentary

Clinical Decision Support and Malpractice Risk — Jul 6, 2011

From the standpoint of policy makers, the basic challenge is to ensure that liability concerns do not derail the clinical value of new CDS technology, write Michael Greenberg and M. Susan Ridgely.

Commentary

Creating Health ID Numbers Could Improve Patient Privacy — Oct 30, 2008

As it considers ways to improve the efficiency and quality of U.S. health care, one issue that a new Congress should reconsider is the longstanding roadblock that has stalled efforts to create a system of unique patient identification numbers for every person in the United States, writes Richard Hillestad.