Concerns over privacy stall EHR adoption
Many healthcare facilities, doctors and patients have been slow to jump on the EHR bandwagon, with just one in four doctors using the systems in 2005, according data from a Massachusetts General Hospital and George Washington University study, the New York Times reports. Moreover, just 10 percent of physicians use them to prescribe drugs, call for tests and making treatment decisions.

The main causes of this slow adoption rate is the initial cost of investment, a lack of standards for system compatibility between vendors, and worries over legal issues related to the sharing of medical information, the Times reports.

However, the biggest hurdle is the wide public perception that the systems cannot be trusted to securely hold very sensitive medical information. According to another recent survey, this one from the Markle Foundation, many people in the U.S. fear that employers could delve into their medical histories and use it against them in determining their career path, the Times reports.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/business/yourmoney/03health.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup