This is a very short-sighted way of looking at this issue. It's true that ongoing maintenance and upgrading of installed systems is very expensive and a huge commitment. On the other hand, hospitals and providers would save money and time in reduced claims administration on an ongoing basis, especially if these systems are also designed to be integrated with other back-office functions to provide timely and accurate management and performance information to their management and executive levels. Certainly not less important is the potential improvement in patient safety outcomes for their patients (such as those experienced by the VA), especially in states with mandated reporting; as well as the reduction in reputation risk (which can translate into $$) and possible fines to state regulators when bad things that happen at their hospitals are made public.