BCBS of MA: Financial benefits of EMRs not worth investment to doctors, but worth it for CPOE
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
March 5, 2008
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts estimates that doctors see 11 cents of every dollar saved by using electronic medical records (EMR), reports American Medical News. Because of that low number, the health plan has decided not to require its physicians to use EMRs to participate in its bonus program. However, the same was not true for Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE). The same study concluded that CPOE made financial sense for hospitals, which will be required to have such systems working by 2012 to be able to take part in the bonus program.A recent study by Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and New England Healthcare Institute found that using CPOE in hospitals can save the state $170 million annually. The cost of installing and maintaining CPOE systems is gained back within just more than two years, and this is done mostly by preventing medical errors.
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