What Electronic Records Mean for Health Care

Do you pay your bills online, send e-cards for birthdays, and opt for news websites over a daily paper? In this increasingly paper-free era, medical records have lagged behind, but that's changing.

You might already have encountered your family's electronic medical records (EMRs) — also called electronic health records, or EHRs — at checkups or seen your child's health records consolidated electronically between your pediatrician's office and a specialist's.

If not, expect to soon. Implementing EMR systems is costly, so many doctors and hospitals were previously reluctant to use them. But the recent health care reform legislation mandates standardized billing in which insurers must implement rules for the secure, confidential electronic exchange of health information.

Under the umbrella term "meaningful use" of EMRs, the government has established rules and financial incentives (billions of dollars in federal funds) to spur adoption of electronic records, which are expected to reduce paperwork and administrative burdens, cut costs, reduce medical errors, and improve the quality of care for patients.

Indeed, EMRs will be a critical part of quality of care standards at hospitals, who must publicly report on their care — and patients' perception of that care — starting with results relating to surgical care, health-care associated infections, and others.