SPOTLIGHT: EMRs to help cut healthcare costs

If you believe PricewaterhouseCoopers, EMRs may soon begin to fulfill their often-cited purpose: they'll actually start squeezing costs from the system. Healthcare benefit costs and average medical costs increases should begin to slow in 2008, at least in part due to increased EMR and health IT use, according to research by PwC. Other factors behind slowing costs include lower spending on prescription drugs, employer use of wellness programs and greater cost-sharing with employees. Release