More electronic records 'may cut infant mortality'
Thursday 19th May 2011
Increasing the usage of electronic medical records could reduce infant mortality a new study has projected.
A ten per cent rise in hospital use of basic electronic records would save 16 infants for every 100,000 live births in the USA, according to the study published in the Journal of Political Economy.
Furthermore, a complete national transition to electronic records would save an estimated 6,400 infants each year.
According to the study, 18,000 babies die within 28 days of birth each year in the US, which puts the nation behind most of the European Union when it comes to infant mortality.
The authors write: "These findings provide an empirical basis for government policy intervention to hasten the diffusion of healthcare [information technology]."
This comes after a study in journal Radiology established that excessive imagining procedures on emergency transfer patients could be reduced through the use of data transfer via CD-ROM.
Written by Mathew Horton
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