December 27, 2010 | A UC Davis study has found that electronic medical records may not be the "silver bullet" of health care reform that some hoped. The study measured the impact of electronic medical record-keeping on doctors' productivity.

The researchers found that the initial implementation of the EMR system resulted in a 25 percent to 33 percent drop in physician productivity. While significant, the drop was anticipated. Over the next few months, the researchers found that the impact of the new technology on productivity varied by physician group. Internal medicine units adjusted to the new technology and experienced a slight increase in productivity. In contrast, pediatricians and family practice doctors did not return to their original productivity levels and experienced a slightly lower productivity rate. UC Davis