Barriers to proliferation of electronic medical records.

Background: Error reduction, quality improvement and lowering of cost can all be achieved through electronic integration of healthcare providers. Proliferation of standard electronic health records/ electronic medical records (EHR/EMR) software is an essential precursor of this integration. Proliferation of EHR/EMR software has not occurred in the United States.

Metcalfe's law predicts reduced power of Electronic Medical Record software.

Error reduction, quality improvement and lowering of cost can all be achieved through electronic integration of health care providers. Despite the existence of clinical computing software for decades, meaningful linkage between health care providers has not occurred. We hypothesize that a major reason is reduction in network value through incompatible clinical software among hundreds of health care entities.

Which procedures should be taught in family practice residency programs?

Background: Family practice residencies lack clear guidelines defining which procedures should be included in their curricula. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Task Force on Procedures developed a recommendation (approved by the AAFP Board of Directors) that can be used to create a set of procedures that should be taught in residencies. The task force recommendation is based on procedures taught in most family practice residencies and performed by most practicing family physicians.