Some Major Biomedical Informatics Challenges

Significant efforts are new being undertaken to transform the US health care delivery system. “The Institute of Medicine has highlighted how between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors. This heightened the issue of patient safety and quality for the public and decision-makers. Early in 2004, President Bush called for widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records within the next 10 years, believing that electronic health records will reduce medical errors, cut healthcare costs through increased efficiency, and ultimately result in improved patient care... Over 80% of health care providers in the US in 2005 did not have electronic health record systems. Of the systems that do exist few are interoperable.”