The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) recently announced that it has saved more than $5 million in costs in 2009 due to its system-wide Electronic Medical Records (EMR). This is the second consecutive year that the DMC has experienced cost-savings due to the EMR system.
The system, which started to be implemented in 1998, cut costs by effectively preventing medication errors and monitoring important hospital tasks. DMC leaders expressed enthusiasm not only for the cost-savings, but also for the improved quality of care for patients. In the DMC press release, the DMC’s Chief Medical Information Officer, Dr. Leland Babitch, stated that the reduction in medication errors is “…a major gain for patients – especially given the fact that medication errors account for the majority of accidental deaths and injuries at U.S. hospitals.”
The DMC’s press release comes at a time when the Obama Administration is encouraging electronic health record (EHR) systems across the country. For instance, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently named the first technology review bodies that are authorized to certify EHR systems.
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