Paperless or less paper: realistic goals in dermatology practice

Who benefits and who pays for the electronic health records? Patients may obtain better health care, while payers benefit from lower costs. Providers pay greater costs to implement health information technology, however, and may experience lower revenues after implementation. Although large multispecialty practices or medical centers may benefit from electronic health record systems, dermatologists-particularly those in dermatology specialty groups or in solo practice-may be adequately served by document-management systems that are less complex and less expensive. This article offers a perspective on medical record documentation alternatives.