FierceHealthcareFierceHealthITFierceHealthFinanceFierceEMRHospital ImpactFierceMobileHealthcare   FierceCIO

Adoption of PHRs could save up to $21 billion annually

November 17, 2008 — 10:22am ET | By Anne Zieger
Tools
Tags
Startup Costs
Personal Health Records (PHRs)
Maintenance Costs
HIMSS
healthcare information

A new study from the Center for Information Technology Leadership at Partners Healthcare System in Boston has come up with a detailed analysis of how much money interoperable PHRs could save annually.

The study, which examined the costs and benefits of increasing the adoption of PHRs to 80 percent of the U.S. population, found that it would cost $3.7 billion in startup costs and $1.9 billion annually in maintenance costs. However, it also found that it would save up to $21 billion annually. It's worth noting, meanwhile, that most of the savings would go to the payers.

The study was paid for in part by unrestricted research funding from three vendors involved in the PHR market, and partially funded by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

To learn more about the breakdown of potential savings:
- read this iHealthBeat piece

Related Articles:
Promoting PHR use: Is it a good idea?
Groups sink $5.3M into PHR apps
Key players agree on PHR framework
AHIMA demands better PHR privacy protections

Click here to get the FierceHealthIT email newsletter for FREE!


Comments (1) | Post a comment

Comments

By Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson | Posted 4:29pm | November 19, 2008

This is a good market for GE and others; electronic medical records can increase efficiency and only about 10% - 15% of hospitals -- and about the same percent of doctors -- have adopted EMR systems.

What’s tougher is the big price tag: Will electronic records really decrease healthcare costs? We know there will be a spike in costs at the outset, and that the systems are likely to cost more than anticipated. The ROI is still unclear.

Even trickier is the underlying logic of these systems, especially around the need to assure and deliver quality, consistent care. Do they incorporate the smartest diagnostic and quality care guidelines? Do they make evidence-based clinical information available at the bedside, along with the patient’s individual and historical information? Not all EMRs are created equal.

Possibilities? www.healthcaretownhall.com

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

More information about formatting options

To combat spam, please enter the code in the image.