Doctors take all the risk, while insurers reap most of the benefits:

Dr. Baron’s office has saved money “” in transcribing medical reports, for example “” and his practice now handles its 6,000 patients with three fewer office employees. He described other benefits, mainly the ability to find information quickly for patients, hospitals, insurers and labs with a few keystrokes.

The technology, Dr. Baron said, has also helped make him become a more adept physician. But it has not yet paid off in dollars and cents: the savings in salaries is less than the costs entailed in computerization. “It is a high-risk venture,” he said, “and you do it at your own financial peril.”