Termination of a contract to implement an enterprise electronic medical record system.

The development of integrated health care systems, the building of distributed computer networks throughout them, and the advent of easy-to-use electronic medical records for ambulatory practices combine to create a powerful argument for an enterprise electronic medical record. Potential customers need to learn from both successes and failures. Although the author could find in the literature only two reports of failures, a survey of family practice residencies revealed ten programs in which use of an electronic medical record had been discontinued. The author reports on a project that was terminated even though the technology was adequate to achieve the original project goals.