Measuring what might have been but for what actually occurred is difficult. Hence, a study published by Health Affairs that estimates $3.09 billion in Veterans Affairs Department savings between 1997 and 2007, thanks to health information technology, is not a factual statement, acknowledges a study co-author.

"We are not certain to what extent [savings] were realized," Douglas Johnston, executive director of the Center for Information Technology Leadership and a study researcher, told Kaiser Health News.

"We would like to have empirical studies. We know the VA is heading that way," Johnston added. The study found that the VA spent $4 billion on health IT and saved $7 billion, for a net savings of approximately $3 billion.

"More than 86 percent of the savings were due to eliminating duplicated tests and reducing medical errors. The rest of the savings came from lower operating expenses and reduced workload. The authors further noted that these were conservative estimates of net value, based on available literature and published studies," the VA said in an April 7 statement.

The Center for Information Technology Leadership estimates that nationwide adoption of a standardized national healthcare information exchange and interoperability would save $77.8 billion annually in healthcare costs.

The Kaiser Health News article notes that other estimates have been lower; the Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2009 that $33 billion in planned spending on health IT between 2009 and 2019 will reduce direct federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid by about $13 billion. The CBO estimate does not include savings garnered by lower health insurance premiums caused by a decrease in health care costs thanks to health IT, however.

For more:
- read the Kaiser Health News article
- see the VA press release on the Health Affairs study
- see the abstract of the Health Affairs study
- read the March 10, 2009 testimony of CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf on healthcare costs

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