Patient Records and Computers

Abstract

Improvement in clinical information-management systems is frequently cited as one strategy for coping with the cost and inefficiency of our health-care system. However, dissemination of computer-based records has been slow and fraught with logistical complications. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently undertook an 18-month study to examine the status of patient records and of computer-based approaches to their management. The study examined current and future users and uses of patient records plus technologies to support record automation. Strategies were then developed to address the barriers to widespread adoption of computerbased records. Solutions depend on a coordinated national, regional, and institutional approach to computing and communications infrastructure. Physicians may wish to familiarize themselves with the final report, in which the IOM has recommended that the public and private sectors join in establishing a Computer-Based Patient Record Institute to promote and f...

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