As part of the
economic stimulus program in 2009, the Obama administration put into effect a Bush-era incentive program providing billions of dollars in incentives to encourage hospitals and physicians to use electronic medical and billing records. The goals were to improve efficiency and patient safety, while reducing health care costs.
But in reality, the move to electronic health records
may be contributing to billions of dollars in higher costs for Medicare, private insurers and patients by
making it easier for hospitals and physicians to bill more for their services, whether or not they provide additional care.
