The National Center for Health Statistics has just published this data brief, reporting that as of December 2011, 55% of physicians have adopted electronic health records (EHRs). The data comes from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey’s 2011 Physician Workflow mail survey. This survey will be conducted annually through 2013, providing up-to-date data on EHR adoption trends.
Among solo practitioners, 29% were adopters of EHR systems. The proportion of physicians who were adopters increased as the size of the practice increased, with 60% of physicians in 2-physician practices, 62% of physicians in 3-to-10-physician practices, and 86% of physicians in practices with 11 or more physicians having adopted EHR systems. Primary care (58%) and medical care specialists (55%) did not significantly differ from each other in EHR adoption
About three-quarters of adopters reported that using their EHR system resulted in enhanced patient care. Nearly one-half of physicians currently without an EHR system plan to purchase or use one already purchased within the next year.
Ignatius Bau 