Health IT Could Lead to Billions In Net Savings

The widespread implementation of electronic medical record systems by physicians could lead to $142 billion in net savings over 15 years, according to a study from the Rand Corp.

And the implementation of hospital-based systems could mean a savings of $371 billion over 15 years, according to the study, which was published in the September/October issue of Health Affairs.

“Our findings strongly suggest that it is time for the government and others who pay for health care to aggressively promote health information technology,” Richard Hillestad, the Rand senior management scientist who led the study, said in a statement.

While the potential savings would outweigh the costs quickly during the adoption cycle, there are still a number of barriers to the effective adoption and application of health information technology, the researchers wrote. For instance, although providers would pay to implement the system, it's the payers and consumers who are likely to experience savings. In addition, even if the systems are widely adopted, interoperability and information exchange networks might not be developed, according to the study.