American Medical Informatics Review for 2011

2011 has been a productive year for may hospitals that have gone through the conversion process to a fully integrated EMR. This is expensive and traumatic for the entire staff.We must now throttle back on the accelerator and let these systems settle and mature so that the bugs and problems can be resolved. England made serious mistakes in the pressure they placed on a central control of everything and it has cost them their investment. We need to learn from their experience and let innovation and experimentation be done on what is presently in the field so that we do not force inefficiency and error on those who follow. The companies need to spend less on connectivity and more on system improvement and physician modifications. Less regulatory control and more quality control are needed. Are these new systems really working and are they going to keep working?These questions need answers before more money is spent and perhaps wasted. Without the support of the staff and medical community, this whole investment will be wasted and the effort will be less than optimal. Let's hope sanity returns to Washington this year and we have an opportunity to study and analyze our current progress.