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Journal ArticleDOI

Use Of Electronic Health Records Can Improve The Health Care Industry’s Environmental Footprint

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TLDR
It is concluded that electronic health records have a positive net effect on the environment, and that the model for evaluating their impact can be used to determine whether their use can improve communities' health.
Abstract
Electronic health records have the potential to improve the environmental footprint of the health care industry. We estimate that Kaiser Permanente’s electronic health record system, which covers 8.7 million beneficiaries, eliminated 1,000 tons of paper records and 68 tons of x-ray film, and that it has lowered gasoline consumption among patients who otherwise would have made trips to the doctor by at least three million gallons per year. However, the use of personal computers resulted in higher energy consumption and generated an additional 250 tons of waste. We conclude that electronic health records have a positive net effect on the environment, and that our model for evaluating their impact can be used to determine whether their use can improve communities’ health.

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Citations
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The carbon footprint of cataract surgery.

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Environmental and economic comparison of reusable and disposable blood pressure cuffs in multiple clinical settings

TL;DR: Life cycle assessment and costing highlight environmental and financial trade-offs between manufacturing and cleaning when comparing reusable and disposable BP cuffs.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Exposure-Related Health Effects of Silver and Silver Compounds: A Review

TL;DR: A critical review of studies examining exposures to the various forms of silver was conducted to determine if some silver species are more toxic than others.
Journal ArticleDOI

Estimate of the Carbon Footprint of the US Health Care Sector

TL;DR: It is inappropriate to conclude, in the absence of supporting evidence, that treatment in the next 24 hours is unlikely to make a difference, and the large prior experience with this therapy must be considered.
Journal ArticleDOI

Improved Quality At Kaiser Permanente Through E-Mail Between Physicians And Patients

TL;DR: The use of secure patient-physician e-mail within a two-month period was associated with a statistically significant improvement in effectiveness of care as measured by the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS).
Journal ArticleDOI

The Kaiser Permanente Electronic Health Record: Transforming And Streamlining Modalities Of Care

TL;DR: The impact of implementing a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system on ambulatory care use in an integrated health care delivery system with more than 225,000 members decreased between 2004 and 2007 and scheduled telephone visits increased more than eightfold.

The Kaiser Permanente Electronic Health Record: Transforming And Streamlining Modalities Of Care EHRs can help achieve more-efficient contacts between patients and providers, while maintaining quality and satisfaction.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of implementing a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system on ambulatory care use in an integrated health care delivery system with more than 225,000 members.
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