EHRs in the New Health Economy: Essential but insufficient

EHRs in the New Health Economy: Essential but insufficient

Electronic health records (EHRs) were once billed as the lynchpin to moving the US health system into the digital age. But the largely swift adoption of these systems may have slowed the industry’s transition to the New Health Economy.

Today, EHRs are largely used for billing and payment, not as building blocks in a larger health IT ecosystem helping to advance care delivery, deliver population health or meet consumer expectations. However, there are lessons to be learned from organizations that made the move to EHRs as part of a broader business strategy. In many respects, these “strategic EHR implementers” are further along.

In order to realize a return on their investment, providers will need to start viewing their EHR as a strategic asset and look to other technologies to address EHRs’ limitations.