With members of the baby boomer generation hitting retirement age, experts believe the healthcare system could soon be flooded with patients. This could have important implications for orthopedic care, which involves lengthy, episodic care.

The influx of patients could swamp orthopedic providers, but some experts believe electronic health records could help solve problems before they arise.

Steve Neufeld, an orthopedic surgeon at the Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center in Washington, DC, told Becker's Orthopedic and Spine Review that EHR implementation is one aspect of his practice's long-term efforts to deal with the expected influx of patients.

He told the news source that eliminating unnecessary paperwork and streamlining record-keeping practices will allow doctors to spend more time with patients, which will be central to a medical office's ability to handle higher patient volumes.

A 2008 report from the Institute of Medicine estimated that the nation's healthcare workforce is too small to handle the increased demand that is expected to result from aging baby boomers. Using technology like EHR systems to carry a greater workload could alleviate some of strain caused by higher patient volumes.