The Obama administration has made Electronic Medical Records and Health Information Technology a centerpiece of its Health Reform proposals, suggesting that millions of dollars can be saved from fraud, abuse and waste. Administration officials also contend that we may also be able to significantly improve the qualtiy of healthcare through eHealth and other technology solutions. While the promise and potential are certainly real, the administration would do well not to oversell the prospects, at least in the short term, and avoid “reinventing the wheel” by learning from those who have gone before.
The London Times is reporting that the National Program for IT (NPfIT), which aims to create a single electronic records system for 50 million patients in England, as well as providing electronic prescriptions and other services is not without significant challenges. For one, the global economic slowdown is forcing the British government to look for areas where spending can be cut or reduced. The program is reputed to be the largest non-military IT project in the world and has been criticized over delays to the proposed database of medical records and concerns that the system will not be secure. Fewer than 20 of the country’s large tertiary hospital systems (trusts) have installed electronic medical records under the project, despite an initial deadline for the whole country to have done so by 2010.
At the program’s inception in 2000, British officials had defended the system, insisting that it could save the NHS approximately $2.5 billion by 2014. Another problem cited by The National Audit Office is that the Government underestimated the challenges involved in the project, pointing to the “serious delays” in applying new software to individual hospital systems. These concerns do not even take into consideration whether or not those 50 million British patients will even use the system or want their information to be available to others through the system. The truth is it always takes more than good intentions and a good idea to reap good rewards and outcomes. If health IT like health reform is ever to deliver on its potential, it will take a lot of planning, hard work, flexibility and a good dose of patience from all.
Chris Gibbons, Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute
Associate Director
Member ICMCC Advisory Board
First published at Healthcare Disparities Solutions Blog
