EHR use cut health care costs, BCBS says

Providence Business News, December 12, 2011

BEI Commentary: As has been borne out with other studies, a recently completed pilot by BCBS in Rhode Island over three years found significant decreases in health care spending and increased outcomes for physicians using EHRs.  Even the physicians were pleasantly surprised.

The use of electronic health records in a three-year pilot program lowered health care costs by an average of between 17 and 33 percent, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island announced Monday.

In addition, EHR use was found to have led to improved quality outcomes, with a 44 percent median rate of improvement in family and children’s health, 35 percent in women’s care, and 24 percent in internal medicine in Rhode Island. Read More