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Chicago-based electronic medical records provider Allscripts is merging with British company Misys PLC to create a firm that will manage data for a combined 150,000 practicing doctors in the U.S., around a third of the nation’s total. Last year, Allscripts and Dell Computers partnered to bring electronic prescribing to doctors for free. Now the new entity (which will keep the name Allscripts) plans to collaborate with Google, who are introducing their own service called Google Health, and with Microsoft.

Supporters of electronic medical record keeping, such as Allscripts’ customers, claim that it saves time and reduces mistakes. Now this is important because preventing mistakes can save lives. But detractors say that electronic medical record keeping is expensive and are worried about security. I agree that security is a concern, passwords can be cracked, and laptops and thumb drives can and do get lost or stolen. It wouldn’t be as easy for thieves to steal a whole file cabinet or bookshelf. So both sides have a point, and we’ll just have to wait and see if the Department of Health and Human Services can reach its goal of 50% of U.S. medical practices having electronic medical records by 2014 (right now it’s at 14%).

Read [Time]