If you have been reading this blog you are aware of the $19 Billion the government is spending on electronic medical records as part of the stimulus package. The question is now being asked if the technology is ready for the job. Fred Schutte has an article looking at some of the struggles at hospitals who have converted.

In the long term, electronic health records (EHRs) are the right answer. The question is about the short term. What we really need is a national standard for EHRs. Until systems seamlessly integrate we will see many of these issues. I hope the department of Health and Human Services tackles the problem before the cost of fixing it is greater than the cost of implementation.

For many doctors the biggest barrier to electronic health records (EHR) is the cost of the software and hardware. The New England Journal of Medicine estimated the cost at $36,000 per physician. Even with the $19 billion in grants from the stimulus package this is hefty chunk of change.

To offer a low cost solution, Wal-Mart has partnered with Dell and eClinicalWorks. The new system priced at $25,000 for the first physician in a practice and $10,000 for each additional doctor. Continuing annual cost is expected to be $4,000 to $6,500 per year for maintenance and support.

If this system gets traction it might have the power to become the standard in an industry looking for a market leader.

Part of the $787 billion spending package that was passed last week includes $17 billion in incentives for healthcare providers to adopt electronic health records. However, most of the spending doesn't start until 2011 through 2024. The spending package also includes new privacy provisions for electronic health records. The new provisions ban the sale of health information, require audit trails and encryption technologies.