Rate of Electronic Health Record Adoption Remains Steady

A recent physician's technology survey has found that 72% of healthcare providers in the United States are in some stage of electronic health record (HER) adoption.

The survey, which polled 1,300 outpatient practices in the United States, found that despite federal government financial incentives rewarding physicians who adopt EHR systems, adoption has leveled off, as providers continued to complain about high up-front costs and other challenges to making the transition. A tipping point has thus been reached, whereby more doctors are using the technology than those that are not, and the holdouts are now at a competitive disadvantage. The remaining 29% of those without an EHR cited high cost as the reason, more than any other factor.

The survey was held by Physicians Practice (Portland, OR, USA), a leading business publication for physicians that is part of UBM Medica (London, United Kingdom). As a companion to the 2012 survey results, Physicians Practice also identified five health information-technology trends for the coming year, talking to physicians and technology experts to identify major trends at practices nationwide.

“The main obstacle for EHR holdouts is money,” said Bob Keaveney, editorial director of Physicians Practice. “But among physicians, especially in private practice, there is also a deep well of skepticism – even resentment – about federal incentives programs that are designed to get doctors to behave in particular ways. Right or wrong, I think that many of the EHR holdouts view this incentive program in the same light: as just another attempt to control doctors.”

According to the results of the survey, Physicians Practice has concluded that the days of paper-based healthcare recordkeeping are coming to an end. Hospitals have been acquiring community practices in efforts to increase market share and achieve hospital-physician alignment, and those newly acquired practices will adopt their hospitals' EHR systems. Technology vendors are responding to physician concerns, offering access to affordable products via the cloud and adapting their products for use on mobile devices, especially the iPad, which doctors are purchasing in high numbers.

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