There have been several good discussions lately debunking President-elect Obama's claim that electronic medical records (EMRs) will achieve huge health care cost savings.
Dr. Steve Knope explains, "Why This Concierge Practice Prefers Paper Records".
Lee Gomes writes, "Why Tech Can't Cure Medical Inflation".
Dr. Kevin Pho discusses, "Why doctors still balk at electronic medical records".
Newsweek dissects, "Obama's Inflated Health Savings".
As these articles note, the fundamental problem with our health care system is not one of information technology. In fact, a government-mandated adoption of EMR could hamper good clinical practice. Rather, the fundamental problem is the perverse economics caused by decades of government policies. Hence, instead of a bogus technical "fix", we need fundamental free market health care reforms.
The blog of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM)
