Electronic health records lifecycle cost.

We have overestimated the ability of electronic health records (EHR) systems to enhance efficiency by eliminating transcription and the need to physically pull charts. Hospital managers typically underestimate the costs of upgrade fees and support. To avoid this problem, hospitals must develop a full total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to independently forecast total lifecycle costs for EHR information technology. Vendor information must be checked for validity and a milestone payment schedule must be devised to pay for results (outcomes) not promises. Vendors vary widely in their capacity to set up a fully functional inpatient-outpatient EHR system. Documentation programming will help to control hospital costs while enhancing service quality and staff morale. This study presents cost analysis from 62 hospitals in 16 cities during the period 2012-2013.