In “Obama turned doctors into data-entry techs” (May 28), Charles Krauthammer’s criticisms of the negative effects of Electronic Health Records (EHR) that doctors are being required to use are not exaggerated. Inputting information into electronic records sounds good. Just push a button and years of doctor’s visits and hundreds of laboratory tests and X-Rays and consultations and medications prescribed appear on a computer screen in seconds. However, while it may make sense for large hospital networks to digitalize their records, that is not the case for small doctor groups.

There is a price to pay for that instantaneous retrieval of information. Doctors find that their attention is diverted from patient to computer. This can lead to medical errors and malpractice suits. In fact, patients frequently complain that their doctors pay more attention to their computers than to them.

Moreover, there is a danger that insurers will use EHR to track how doctors practice and use that information to control how they treat patients.

Unfortunately, the costs and extra staff necessary to maintain an EHR system is so great that many small doctor groups are joining large hospitals in order to survive.

Dr. Edward Volpintesta

Bethel