Push for digital health records sparks debate

WASHINGTON -- The blank wall behind the receptionists' desk stands as a symbol of efficiency in Peter Basch's bustling office. A dozen years ago, Basch and his fellow doctors went paperless and ditched the stacks of patients' charts that stood there.

An early entry into the world of electronic medical records, Basch is an enthusiastic supporter. "It allows our staff and physicians to be far more organized," he says. And that means "more focused on the patient."

President Obama wants doctors' offices and hospitals nationwide to follow suit, and the government has set a goal for every American to have an electronic health record by 2014.

Kathleen Sebelius, the White House nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, calls the move to computerization "one of the linchpins" of overhauling the nation's health care system. Obama casts it as a factor in the nation's economic recovery, saying going paperless would "save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs."

Naysayers suggest health information technology (IT), the overall move to computerization, is full of false promise. Digital records can lead to better care and fewer medical mistakes, they say, but the costly transformation could waste money if the doctors and hospitals buy systems that can't be connected to share information.

"We could head for a techno-Katrina," warns Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., referring to the government's failed efforts to respond to the 2005 hurricane. "I do not want to do that, where we do a dollar dump, and at the end of the day, we have a lot of microchips floating around."

Costs of an upgrade

Studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine show that less than 2% of hospitals use electronic records in all departments and that 17% of doctors have functioning digital systems.

The Obama administration says the government could save $12 billion over 10 years if doctors go digital because electronic systems help reduce duplication of tests, prevent medical errors and prompt doctors to prescribe less-expensive drugs. "We are confident that health IT will significantly bring down the cost of health care and benefit all Americans," says Nick Papas, a Health and Human Services spokesman.