Doctors question benefits of electronic records

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act a series of information technology objectives for doctors to meet by 2014, and a series of incentives: $24,000 to $42,000 per doctor depending on when records are digitized. Failure to comply by 2014 means an escalating percentage of Medicare Part B payments will be forfeited to the federal government. A survey of 500 physicians by Athenahealth and medical networking site Sermo found that 7 percent fewer physicians than last year believe the financial benefits outweigh the costs, and 5 percent fewer said patient care benefits justify the investment. Sixty percent of docs said electronic records slow down patient care, up from 54 percent in 2010. “I do not find that physicians are techno-phobes,” said Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush. “I think they are angry and frustrated that things are imposed on them that they think are going to hurt their business.”