Medical practices that use electronic health record (EHR) systems are doing better financially than those that are still paper records-based, according to a report by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) in Englewood, Colo. The study found that practices that were not owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems reported almost $50,000 in greater total medical revenue per full-time-equivalent (FTE) physician than practices with paper medical records. These practices also reported greater expenses, at about $105,000 per FTE physician, but had almost $180,000 greater median revenue per FTE physician than practices with paper medical records. And, after five years of EHR use, independent physician practices had a median operating margin that was about 10 percent higher than physician practices in their first year of using EHRs, the report notes.
Telemedicine and e-Health, October 29,2010
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