VA study: EMR improves quality, but there’s more to be done

There’s a new study in Annals of Internal Medicine this week, demonstrating measurable benefits in quality from the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) clinical records system.

VA patients in the study only got 67 percent of recommended care for their specific chronic conditions, compared to 51 percent among a non-VA population of patients with and without private insurance.

So what about the other 33 percent of recommended care that is not delivered? Is that the best the American health system can do, even with advanced clinical information systems?

Read the study abstract here.

One response to "VA study: EMR improves quality, but there’s more to be done"

# Anonymous commented on December 22, 2004:
Why am I not surprised? As someone who used to work in healthcare, on the front lines so to speak, I can attest to the fact that recommended care is often not given. For a nation that has the highest healthcare spending in the world, the reality of our healthcare system is a sorry statement indeed.Roxannewww.nabeepchen.com