Study: EHR Use Lowers Short-Term Ambulatory Care Costs

Use of electronic health records helped reduce ambulatory health care costs by about 3% over the 18 months following implementation, according to a study published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. However, researchers found that EHR use did not reduce overall inpatient costs.

• "EHRs Have Mixed Effect on Health Costs (Pittman, MedPage Today, 7/15).
• "Electronic Health Records Help Cut Costs for Mass. Community Docs: Study" (Tran, "Capsules," Kaiser Health News, 7/15).
• "EHRs Slow Increase in Outpatient Costs" (Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR, 7/16).