The following statistics convey the urgent need for electronic medical records within the U.S. 

• Using a computer-based patient records system can save a provider organization $86,400 per provider over five years. (American Journal of Medicine) 
• One study found that improved billing using health information technology boosted practice revenues by $17,000 per physician per year, while efficiency savings and gains averaged $15,800 per physician per year. (Health Data Management)
• Over 40 percent of a doctor’s day is spent searching for information. (CIO Magazine)
• More than 90% of the nation's health care transactions still occur via phone, fax or an exchange of paper. (USA Today) 
• Almost one-half of critical patient information is missing when doctors need it. (CIO Magazine)
• More than 85% of U.S. doctors rely on paper records. (Eric Brown, Forrester Research)
• 98,000 people a year die from medical errors. (Institute of Medicine)
• Only 28 percent of physicians use a computer to access patient information. (CIO Magazine)
• Only about 10 percent of doctors in the smallest practices use electronic records. (Medical Group Management Association)