International EMR: The Netherlands

I recently had a few days out of the office and decided to visit Amsterdam.  I had never been there before and thought I would look up what’s been going on in the Netherlands with regards to electronic medical records.  It turns out that approximately 90%+ of Dutch medical doctors are using EMR and EHR systems, according to a Canadian study quoted in Full Electronic Medical Records Still 20 years Away.  In a slightly older post from 2008, Canada Lags in Electronic Medical Records, the number quoted for Netherlands docs was higher, at 98%.

This post struck me as very interesting because of the information regarding just how electronic were medical practices in various countries in Europe.  Not only does it discuss EMRs, but also PDAs and websites of practitioners, which gives the reader a feel for just how technologically savvy various countries’ docs really are.  A listing of sources is at the end to let you know they didn’t just pull the numbers out of the air.

A motherlode of information (Electronic Patient Record in the Netherlands) about the early days of the Dutch EMR experience was presented in 2002 and sounds eerily similar to what we are facing in the U.S. today.  The issues are so similar in some cases that it’s tempting and begs the question to predict what will eventually happen in the U.S.

Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC.  He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC, as a solo practice in 2009.  He can be reached at doctorwestindc@gmail.com.  Some of his blogs also appear at EHROutlook.com.

About the author

Dr. Michael West

Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC. He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. West opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC in 2009. He can be contacted at doctorwestindc@gmail.com.

   

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