Harvard study raises doubts about HIT cost savings

A study by researchers from Harvard University concludes that new electronic records systems installed at hospitals across the country did little to reduce healthcare costs (Source: “No hospital savings with electronic records: study,” Reuters, Nov. 20, 2009).

A review of about 4,000 hospitals from 2003 to 2007 that adopted EMR systems found that administrative costs actually rose.  The study was published in the American Journal of Medicine and was released by Physicians for a National Health Program, an advocacy group that supports a single-payer healthcare system.

"Our study finds that hospital computerization hasn't saved a dime, nor has it improved administrative efficiency," said Himmelstein, who oversees clinical computing at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts. "Claims that health IT will slash costs and help pay for the reforms being debated in Congress are wishful thinking."

The researchers analyzed data from the industry's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, hospital reports on costs incurred through the Medicare insurance program for the elderly and the 2008 Dartmouth Health Atlas, which compiles government health data.