SPOTLIGHT: Poorly implemented EMRs

This may not come as shocking news to people in the business, but it's good to get it out there to the general public: Not all EMR implementations are created equal, and some actually can increase the risk of medical errors. "Our basic position is that the current products cannot meet our quality, safety or efficiency needs," University of New Mexico internist Dr. Kendall Rogers, chairman of an IT task force for the Society of Hospital Medicine, told a reporter for the Huffington Post Investigative Fund. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked 10 EMR vendors to report complaints from customers and patients. And some are warning that billions in federal dollars could be wasted if the stimulus is only able to subsidize the purchase of outdated technology. Article