The benefits include cost reductions and additional revenues.
The cost reductions originated from cost savings due
to elimination of the paper-chart system. There were 5 types
of cost reductions: 1) the reduction of supplies for papercharts,
2) the disposal of storage facilities, 3) the reduction of
full-time equivalent (FTE) employees for paper-chart management,
4) laying off of clerks from the outpatient clinic
setting, and 5) the reduction of supplies for medical devices
[5-7,11]. These cost reductions fundamentally come from
elimination of the paper-chart system operation costs. These
operation costs were reduced or eliminated after adoption of
the EMR system. This study estimated the reduced amounts
based on SMC’s accounting practices of 2006. The cost reductions
were influenced by the number of daily outpatients,
yearly new outpatients and interfaced medical devices. To
ensure greater financial accuracy, the benefit was adjusted
using the consumer price index (CPI), rental expense