Electronic medical records
My story on medical practices switching to electronic medical records is here.
Dr. Mary Johnson points out one other benefit (to doctors) that I didn't address in my story: the likely increase in the "resale" value of a practice with electronic records:
But once the switch to EMR is made, the physician has a much better bargaining chip . . . if he/she ever wants to sell . . . than he/she would have with room full of paper charts that the buyer will almost certainly have to scan/convert.The patient data all neatly recorded on computer hard-drive or disk is worth something . . . and can go to the highest bidder (perhaps recouping at least a portion of the investment - if not all of it).
For financially struggling docs (and, yes, there are some), particularly the many nearing retirement age, that's certainly another benefit.
