National network for sharing e-health records still in infancy, will get boost from stimulus

Work begins on national e-health record network

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More and more Americans’ medical histories are being stored on computer databases instead of in paper files, which experts say improves care and saves cost.

But hospitals in different parts of the country use different computer programs. Often the networks can’t communicate, which delays when doctors can get information.

The health care industry has struggled with this weakness of electronic medical records for more than a decade. Experts warn it may not be solved before federal authorities begin requiring doctors and hospitals to use the programs in coming years.

But some small groups of providers have set up experimental mini-networks to share records securely and have hopes they could be a model for a national system.