Electronic health records: Is the evidence base any use?

Abstract

Information-technology policies in many countries are full of aspirational statements and not generally based on the available evidence. This paper aims to contribute to a proper discussion of the evidence on electronic health records (EHR). The paper describes the methods we used in a review of the impact of EHR on clinical work and administration, summarizes our findings, and discusses their relevance in the context of policy makers' information requirements. We argue that the literature has, to date, largely failed to deliver usable findings.

Keywords:

• Electronic health record
• computerized physician order entry
• economic evaluation
• evidence base

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to Accenture Health Innovation Centre, Leeds for funding this study.