Hundreds of hospital operators nationwide have entered the digital age, allowing patients to access email alerts to remind them of appointments, request medical test results or easily connect with insurance companies, pharmacies and other key players of the healthcare system. Industry observers project the digitizing of medical records could save the nation's healthcare system hundreds of millions of dollars because it would reduce or eliminate redundant testing and the occurrence of errors in patients' files, among other benefits. "If you are an emergency room doctor and you are trying to figure out what to do next, an electronic medical record may prevent you from having to do another" test, Dave Seaman, CEO of Pronger Smith Medical Care, said of expensive procedures such as MRIs and other diagnostic imaging.
