Is Electronic Charting Less Efficient Than Paper Charting?

The federal government has provided $17 billion in incentives to computerize healthcare. The potential benefits include improved error checking, decision support, better billing, and more data for research. However, some research has suggested that going paperless adversely affects productivity.

To further examine this issue, investigators measured operational efficiency 6 months before and 6 months after implementation of an electronic health record system at 23 community emergency departments. No significant differences between the two time points were found in all efficiency factors that were measured, including time to provider, lengths of stay, walkouts, patient satisfaction, patients seen per provider per hour, and significant return v…