MU A Success For 80% Of REC Primary Care Providers

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

RECs, or regional extension centers, have seen an explosion in Meaningful Use (MU) of certified EHRs, according to statistics from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Fierce EMR reports 78 percent of primary care physicians at RECs have demonstrated the Meaningful Use of certified EHR technology (CEHRT). Additionally, 95 percent overall are currently live on such an EHR system. Internal medicine, family practice, primary care, OB-GYN, geriatric, and pediatric providers all had approximately 95 percent EHR adoption rates as well. While not all who have adopted such technology are demonstrating MU, the rate is also high.

Chiropractors had the overall highest adoption rate, at 100 percent, while doctors of medicine, nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants had an adoption rate of 95 percent. MU attestation is not as high as adoption within these specialties either, with as little as 70 percent of physician’s assistants attesting to program, and nearly 80 percent of medical doctors attesting.

Rural hospitals fared surprisingly well when it comes to the adoption of certified EHR technology too - EHR Intelligence reports three quarters of these providers work at a practice consortium, rural hospital, or smaller private practice. In fact, 95 percent of organizations, including rural primary care providers, advanced primary care initiative sites, federally qualified health centers, critical access hospitals have all adopted EHR technology.