Here’s the question of the week: Should the U.S. government shell out the $19 billion that’s earmarked for electronic health records (EHR) if computerization doesn’t improve health care quality, reduce costs or boost administrative efficiency?

Those are the findings of a new study just done at Harvard, and the results are sure to make political hay for plenty of folks in Congress who are looking to block spending on projects established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which had set aside that $19 billion for EHR.

The new study (which you can read here) evaluated data on 4,000 U.S. hospitals over a four-year period. It  found that the enormous price tag for setting up and operating hospital IT systems outpaces any expected cost savings.

It also found that most of the software being written for use in clinics is aimed at administrators, not doctors, nurses and lab workers. That’s not surprising, considering that it’s usually admins — not the folks on the front lines — who make the software purchasing decisions.

One of the study’s lead authors said that the software being peddled to health care institutions is mostly designed for accountants and managers, folks who would use the data output from a computerized system for administration and billing in the institution.

But for the folks who deliver actual health care — doctors, nurses, lab technicians — the software is often something of a bust.

The problem “is mainly that computer systems are built for the accountants and managers and not built to help doctors, nurses and patients,” the report’s lead author, Dr. David Himmelstein, said in an interview with Computerworld.

For years, and across several federal government administrations, there have been predictions of huge cost savings and enormous improvements in the quality of health care through the use of computerized systems. The Harvard study contradicts most of those claims, despite identifying several hospital systems that have had modest success using technology.

While the study appears to be somewhat damning to EHR initiatives, it’s unlikely that it will put the brakes on a growing demand for going digital in doctors’ offices.

Starting in 2011, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act will be giving out incentive payments of up to $64,000 for each doctor who sets up an electronic health records system and uses it effectively.

Given the findings of the study, it’s that last part that could prove difficult.