According to a recent study, physicians who adopt electronic health-record systems risk losing money unless they make other changes to increase revenue and cut costs.
Julia Adler-Milstein, assistant professor at the University of Michigan's schools of information and public health, along with colleagues from the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, collected survey data to assess the return on investment in EHRs. In looking at 49 community practices across the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, an EHR pilot program, researchers found that the average physician lost $43,743 over a five-year period. Only 27% of those converting to EHRs earned a positive return on their investment.