Impact of electronic medical records (EMRs) on hospital productivity in Japan.

Introduction: Consistent with the global trend, Japanese hospitals have increasingly adopted electronic medical record (EMR) systems in the last 20 years. Although improved productivity is emphasized as one of the benefits of information technology (IT), there is a paucity of data regarding how the use of EMR systems influences the productivity of Japanese hospitals.

Methods: This retrospective study focused on 658 municipal hospitals.