Health care facilities in the region are joining a nationwide effort to make medical records available electronically to cut down on costs and waste and allow medical providers in different areas access to patients’ medical records.
Many facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota already access medical records electronically or are in the process of developing, testing and implementing Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Personal Health Record (PHR) systems.
Making health records available online in the electronic form of PHRs, which include medical histories updated by patients, could result in industry savings of $13 billion to $21 billion a year in the U.S., according to a November article in the Journal of American Health Information Management Association.
Rural health care facilities have lagged behind in converting to electronic records systems.
Lynette Dickson, program director for the State Office of Rural Health in North Dakota, said federal stimulus package funds aimed at supporting the advancement of health information technology will put pressure on some rural health care facilities that have not developed EMR plans. http://ping.fm/8Je06