ROCHESTER, NY – A recent study has shown a measureable return on investment for an electronic health records system, posting a return on the initial investment within 16 months.
The small-scale study, conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center, was reported in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
The electronic records system was used in five ambulatory care offices with 28 healthcare providers. The study compared costs from the fall of 2003 with costs from 2005. The electronic system reduced costs by almost $394,000 per year, with much of the savings reflected in steep declines in costs for manual chart pulls, said David A. Krusch, MD, URMC’s chief medical information officer.
The records system cost about $485,000 to install and operate during the first year, he said. After the first year, the annual cost to operate the system is $114,000, he said.
In 2005, URMC began rolling out the system to all its clinicians, Krusch said. When it’s fully implemented and rolled out to the system’s 350 physicians, the system is projected to save as much as $7 million a year, based on the study data.
The rollout of EHRs to URMC’s physicians is about 70 percent complete, and the program is a hit with clinicians, Krusch said.
“Providers can’t wait to be next in line,” he said.
“There’s an overwhelming demand for this. They’ve recognized that there’s a need, the providers are ready and the technology is mature.”
URMC plans to complete the rollout of clinical functionality by next year, when it will begin to layer on integrated administrative applications. The medical center is implementing Chicago-based Allscripts applications.
Another aspect of the savings has come in transcription, although the transition to template-based notes has been modified.
“What we’ve evolved to is a hybrid approach,” Krusch said.
Part of the electronic record involves coded data, while voice recognition technology is used to insert narrative information in records.
The ability to use e-prescribing and access an enterprise-wide medication list also saves money and has been enticing for physicians, Krusch added.