Digitizing Health Records, Before It Was Cool; New York Times, 1/14/12

Milt Freudenheim, New York Times; Digitizing Health Records, Before It Was Cool:

"Ms. Faulkner understands why it’s taken much longer for the health care industry than, say, banks and airlines to move to electronic data. In banking, the types of data are much more limited and known, she says. In health care, by contrast, data is constantly changing based on information from doctors, nurses, patients and others. New discoveries, protocols and government requirements add even more complexity.

The way this data is stored and used can literally be a matter of life and death — which is why the transition to electronic health records is so sensitive. And why it’s so important, Ms. Faulkner says. Computerized record systems can actively search for and analyze information in ways that paper files never can, thereby improving patients’ health, she says...

Concerns about security are hardly groundless. A government Web site known as the “Wall of Shame” has documented hundreds of breaches that threatened patients’ privacy."