Electronic Health Record Adoption Continues to Climb

While adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems has grown rapidly, little is known about physicians’ perspectives on its adoption and use. Nationally representative survey data from 2011 are used to compare the perspectives of physicians who have adopted EHRs with those that have yet to do so across three key areas: the impact of EHRs on clinical care, practice efficiency and operations; barriers to EHR adoption; and factors that influence physicians to adopt EHRs.

A group of researchers – Eric W. Jamoom, Vaishali Patelb, Michael F. Furukawab, and Jennifer King – concluded that purchase cost and productivity loss are the greatest barriers to EHR adoption among both adopters and non-adopters; although non-adopters have significantly higher rates of reporting these as barriers. Financial incentives and penalties, technical assistance, and the capability for electronic health information exchange are factors with the greatest influence on EHR adoption among all physicians.

The article, “EHR adopters vs. non-adopters: Impacts of, barriers to, and federal initiatives for EHR adoption,” was posted online in the March 2014 edition of the Science Direct.

LINK:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213076413000845