IT in the Kaiser Kidney case

Should information technology have been able to prevent the problems at Kaiser Permanente's kidney transplant center? In theory, the answer is an obvious "yes." The transfer of thousands of patients from one program to another looks like a straightforward opportunity for electronic medical records (EMRs), an area where Kaiser is a leader. So what happened? The San Francisco Business Times looks at the scandal, examining the role of IT and also that of the Permanente Medical Group. Our take: Although many aspects of the Kaiser kidney transplant center case are troubling, there may be a silver lining. If handled properly, the incident could become an excellent case study in how IT can be used to prevent such problems in the future and to limit damage when they do happen.

- see this article from the San Francisco Business Times