MAY 04

The health care industry is responsible for up to eight percent of our country's annual CO2 emissions, but a full transition from paper to electronic medical records could take the industry from major emitter to minor emitter.  A new study by Kaiser Permanente found that if electronic health records were implemented across the entire U.S. population, it would reduce CO2 emissions by 1.7 million tons.

Kaiser Permanente, along with the rest of the top five medical groups, have created a patient information exchange that uses only electronic medical records, but across the country, adoption of the technology has been low.  On Kaiser's part, digitizing their records has saved the company 1,044 tons of paper and reduced toxic chemicals from X-ray machine scans by 33.3 tons.  The implementation of virtual doctor-patient visits has saved 92,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

To help spur more physicians, practices and medical groups to make the switch, the federal government is offering $44,000 in incentives per physician for adopting electronic records.  Widespread adoption of better health IT systems could save the U.S. healthcare system $81 billion a year.

via Earth 911

Comments (4)

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Not newsworthy
written by Ronaldo, May 05, 2011

This is just a medical workflow software press release. I am sure that ecogeek will soon publish the sales data of green paint.

As it is, the US government should implement a system without consultation with the private sector, and then invite medical companies to use it. This way, no money will leak to private health care industry.

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yes
written by Sobhan, May 05, 2011

Electronic records of any kind should be kept "electronically." We need to stop wasting trees and I'm not saying fund iPads for every organization, but a company who makes some type of tablet specifically for keeping text records could make them for very cheap. If 1.7 million tons would be saved in the health industry imagine how much would be saved across all industries.

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...
written by Timetrvlr, May 06, 2011

In my Province(Canada), medical records are kept electronically. My Doctor has a computer in every consultation room. He comes in, inserts his authorization card into the slot provided, and all my records are immediately available to him. If I wind up in a hospital anywhere in the Province, he can authorize my complete medical records transfer to that hospital. If I have a diagnostic X-Ray at the hospital, the Radiologist report is transferred to my Doctor. Even my Prescriptions are printed out and my Doctor only has to sign them. I think it makes for a more accurate system and more information is available to those who need it. Oh, yes, it saves an awful lot of paper too.

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Almost but not fully.
written by FluxFox, May 13, 2011

@ Timetrvlr
While your records are "mostly" kept electronically, we are not at 100% just yet. Do to my sisters condition I have been active in the goings on in offices and hospitals. There is till a lot of paper being passed around. Forms, prescriptions, and hospital charts. The plus side it is normally scanned, shredded then recycled.

One day I hope we will be able to go 100% electronic but at least we are still ahead of the game in record keeping then other parts of the world.

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