EHR Use On The Rise
Research indicates EHR use is being widely accepted and more and more healthcare settings are transitioning into a virtual world of medical records.
With the continuation of federal funding and incentive programs initiated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), healthcare settings nationwide continue to adopt the use of EHR technology. The past five years has seen an explosion of hospitals placing charts back on shelves for good and transitioning into the paperless world of EHRs. Many recent surveys paint a clear picture of just how much EHR technology has grown.
According to a report based on recent surveys released by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in 2013, 93 percent of hospitals were utilizing certified EHR technology by the end of the calendar year.
Not only is the use of EHR technology within the facilities increasing, the rate of exchange between healthcare facilities is also on the rise. More than 60 percent of hospitals transferred health information electronically with outside providers, up by 51 percent since 2008. Looking at the data provided by ONC surveys, Karen DeSalvo, National Coordinator for Health IT, states, "I would say Meaningful Use Stage 1, which is the most mature, has been very successful” during the Crimson Clinical Advantage Summit 2014.
Facilities are adopting more than just the basic use of EHR and the rates of advanced function capabilities are also trending upward. Survey research conducted by the Commonwealth Fund involving 679 clinicians and senior executives at Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHC) revealed that in 2009 only 30 percent of these facilities reported advanced HIT capacity, which means that they can perform nine out of the 13 functions such as CPOE. For 2013, this number climbed to an impressive 85 percent of FQHCs utilizing advanced HIT capabilities.
Hospitals are not the only healthcare facilities increasing the use of EHR technology. A report released by the CDC recently showed office-based physicians are also getting on board with nearly 75 percent of them using EHR systems for 2012. While this data is reflective of more office-based physicians utilizing EHR, there is still much room for improvement with about 40 percent using a basic system and only approximately 25 percent utilizing a fully functional system.