Physician Adoption of Electronic Health Records at 55%

The goal of the HITECH Act of 2009 is to advance adoption of certified EHR technology by providing Medicare and Medicaid incentives to both physicians and hospitals.  On Tuesday the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released their findings on EHR adoption by physicians in 2011.

ONC’s Farzad Mostashari followed the release with his thoughts on Health IT Buzz. In his blog post on Tuesday, Dr. Mostashari said the study shows we are “going far beyond just the early adopters” and that the “data shows that EHRs are taking hold among a larger number of providers who believe that the use of technology leads to better, safer, more coordinated health care.” He added that “while more work certainly needs to be done, the data shows that most physicians are satisfied with their EHRs and believe that their systems provide tangible benefits for patients today. This will only increase as physicians become more skilled at using their systems and systems continue to evolve to support additional capabilities.”

The CDC NCHS report looked at:

• The demographics of who adopts EHR systems
• What kinds of EHR systems are in use
• How satisfied users are with their EHR systems
• What the benefits are of having an EHR system
• Who plans to purchase an EHR system

The key findings from the CDC report include:

• 55% of physicians had adopted an EHR system in 2011.
• 75% of the physicians who have adopted an EHR reported their system meets meaningful use criteria.
• 85% of physicians who have adopted an EHR reported being somewhat satisfied (47%) or very (38%) satisfied.
• 75% of the physicians who have adopted saw results in the enhancement of patient care.
• 50% of physicians without an EHR plan to purchase or use one already purchased within the next year.

You can download the full report in PDF format here.