E-Records Get a Big Endorsement

Steve Lohr of the NYTimes reports today that North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System plans to offer its 7,000 affiliated doctors subsidies of up to $40,000 each over five years to adopt digital patient records. That would be in addition to federal support for computerizing patient records, which can total $44,000 per doctor over five years.

The federal program includes $19 billion in incentive payments to computerize patient records, as a way to improve care and curb costs. And the government initiative has been getting reinforcement from hospitals. Many are reaching out to their affiliated physicians — doctors with admitting privileges, though not employed by the hospital — offering technical help and some financial assistance to move from paper to electronic health records.

This endorsement is a huge step in the movement toward e-records for hospitals. As medical offices look to reduce paper consumption and human error, e-records are getting more attention.

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E-Records Get a Big Endorsement