Physician adoption of electronic health record systems continues to increase at a steady pace, with about half of all physicians overall using one, according to SK&A's latest survey of physician practices.
The number of physicians in the U.S. using EHRs has jumped to 49.6 percent, up from 45.6 percent in January. Perhaps not surprisingly, larger practices were more likely to have adopted an EHR system, with 78.8 percent of groups of 26 or more physician going electronic, compared to solo practitioners, of whom 41.8 adopted.
Adoption rates are relatively equal throughout the country, with 52.1 percent of physicians in the north and 51.6 percent in the south using EHRs. Slightly fewer (45.5 percent) practices in the East are using an EHR, compared to 49.3 percent in the West.
The five specialties using EHRs the most were dialysis, pathology, nuclear medicine, radiology and emergency medicine. General practitioners were in the bottom five of adopters, along with psychiatrists, plastic surgeons, endocrinologists and holistic providers.
The SK&A survey confirms findings revealed by other studies this summer. A survey published by Physician Practice's in July also found that about half of physicians (54 percent) had implemented EHRs. A Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) study found, meanwhile, found that 55 percent of physicians had adopted an EHR.
To learn more:
- access the SK&A survey