Patient Records and Computers

Abstract

Improvement in clinical information-management systems is frequently cited as one strategyfor coping with the cost and inefficiency of our health-care system. However, dissemination ofcomputer-based records has been slow and fraught with logistical complications. The Instituteof Medicine (IOM) recently undertook an 18-month study to examine the status of patientrecords and of computer-based approaches to their management. The study examined currentand future users and uses of patient...