The Next IT Push: Electronic Health Records

Healthcare IT should be a good place for careers in the coming years, especially between 2011 and 2015. That's when the industry will start to see the results of $20 billion in government funding allocated for health information technology under President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

One area in particular is worth looking into: Electronic Health Records, also known as EHRs. Only 9 percent of U.S. hospitals currently have EHRs, found a survey by the New England Journal of Medicine. The survey, sent to hospitals in March 2008 and based on responses from 2,900 U.S. hospitals, found most institutions only have basic electronic systems, such as for reporting patients' lab results.

EHRs essentially replace a patient's paper file and may be safer to use, doing things like alerting doctors for drug interactions and the like. Advocates say EHRs also reduce spending from unnecessary testing and help doctors spot trends in their medical practice.

But others argue it won't be an easy transition for the industry to make, citing the "cost and complexity of installing the systems and building data networks required to share information electronically between doctors' offices and hospitals."

Easy or not, EHRs aren't going to happen without more technical folks to put them in place.

-- Sonia Lelii

Posted at 01:00AM Mar 27, 2009 in Advice  |  Comments[11]

Comments:

Please forward all information related to trends in Electronic Health Records.

Posted by Violet McCurchin on May 06, 2009 at 10:18 AM EDT #

How would I go about positioning myself to take advantage of this opportunity?

Posted by Jo Ann Hopkins on May 06, 2009 at 10:57 AM EDT #

I am very interested in this. Please forward related information or point me to where I can find it. This is great - Thank You.

Posted by Irwin Bayever on May 06, 2009 at 12:37 PM EDT #

Good information. Please forward further information as made available to me.

Posted by K.M. on May 06, 2009 at 02:11 PM EDT #

I have already looked into switching industries and getting into Healthcare IT. Like any other industry, those hiring want candidates who already have Healthcare IT experience (software and/or facility). What can I do to help with this transition? Please forward related / additional Healthcare IT information to me or point me to where I can find it. Thank You.

Posted by B. Henry on May 06, 2009 at 03:31 PM EDT #

I would be interested in info about how to obtain the HIM or HRM certificates and then what certifications would be needed to break into this field.

Posted by Mary Johns on May 06, 2009 at 10:19 PM EDT #

I have already looked into switching industries and getting into Healthcare IT. Like any other industry, those hiring want candidates who already have Healthcare IT experience (software and/or facility). What can I do to help with this transition? Please forward related / additional Healthcare IT information to me or point me to where I can find it. I want to ramp up educationally to take advantage of The Next IT Push: Electronic Health Records. Can you provide any guidance as to government funding for re-education and or training. Thank you.

Posted by Tomez DeSilva on May 07, 2009 at 12:01 AM EDT #

I am an IT worker with health care background. At least here in Michigan, there seems to be no real opportunities for EHR work. Doctors offices cannot afford it - neither the extra software costs nor the time nor extra staff to enter the data (the doctors will of necessity continue to take paper notes while with the patient). Only the big hospitals are doing electronic records and they already have staff. Same with vendor packages - no one is doing additonal hiring. So please tell me if I'm missing something.

Posted by Su Iles on May 11, 2009 at 12:48 PM EDT #

I am working on a software EMR and billing application to the Long Term Healthcare segment of the industry. Does anyone have any ideal of the percentage of this industry that is currently using EMR?biling?

Posted by Paul Berney on May 14, 2009 at 02:22 PM EDT #

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Posted by Finasteride. on September 09, 2009 at 10:02 AM EDT #

I have some IT experience and could use any information on how to get started in the EHR IT field.

Posted by Richard Clark on October 19, 2009 at 12:58 PM EDT #

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