Electronic Medical Records Fueling San Francisco Company's Growth

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— One of the goals of President Obama's Health Care Reform Act was to boost the use of electronic medical records to cut down on costly redundancy and waste. Practice Fusion, a San Francisco company, has seen exponential growth since that legislation was signed two years ago.

The company provides free web-based electronic health records to doctors and makes its money through ad revenue.

CEO and founder Ryan Howard said as the health care act takes effect and extends coverage to most Americans, he's seen his company grow from three to 150 employees in the past three years.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

"We have roughly 150,000 users. We manage 34 million patients and we are the fastest growing electronic health record in the country," Howard said.

Democratic House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi visited the company's Tenderloin neighborhood office on Friday.

"The jobs that are being created are jobs for the future and for a better, healthier America," said Pelosi who touted the reform act's strengths.

Dr. Paul Kim, a physician in Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, said through the savings he's been able to achieve using the free service, instead of paying staff to handle paper records, that he's now able to spend more money on patient care.

"If it weren't for Practice Fusion, I can honestly say that I probably would not be here as a physician in private practice," said Kim.

Howard said by the end of the year, his company will service about a quarter of the U.S. population.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)