title: Hope and hype: predicting the impact of electronic medical records.
abstract: The current fascination with electronic medical records (EMRs) is not new. For decades, vendors have capitalized on this enthusiasm. But hospitals and clinics have ended up with little to show for their large outlays. Indeed, computing at a typical hospital has not gotten much beyond what was available twenty-five years ago. The RAND analysis continues the tradition of hope and hype. Unfortunately, behind their impressive predictions of savings lie a disturbing array of unproven assumptions, wishful thinking, and special effects.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: David U
authors.initials: DU
authors.lastname: Himmelstein
authors.forename: Steffie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woolhandler
mesh_terms: D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States