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IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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Nationa Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

 

NCHS Health E-Stat

Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record Use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2008 and Preliminary 2009 [23 December 2009]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.htm
or
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.pdf

 

 

by Chun-Ju Hsiao, Ph.D.; Paul C. Beatty, Ph.D.; Esther S. Hing, M.P.H.; David A. Woodwell, B.A.; Elizabeth A. Rechtsteiner, M.S.; and Jane E. Sisk, Ph.D., Division of Health Care Statistics

 

Policymakers’ interest in the progress of health information technology adoption by health care providers has increased since 2004 when the federal government set the goal for most Americans to have electronic health records by 2014 (1). The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may accelerate the pace of electronic medical record/electronic health record (EMR/EHR) adoption by providers, because it includes funding to promote adoption and use of electronic systems (2).

 

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is an annual nationally representative survey of patient visits to office-based physicians that collects information on use of EMR/EHR. In 2008 and 2009, a supplementary mail survey on EMR/EHR use was conducted in addition to the core in-person NAMCS.

 

According to combined data from the 2008 surveys (mail and in-person surveys), 41.5 percent of physicians reported using all or partial EMR/EHR systems (not including systems solely for billing) in their office-based practices. This estimate was obtained from the question, “Does this practice use electronic medical records or electronic health records (not including billing records)?” (Yes, all electronic; Yes, part paper and part electronic; No; and Don’t know). The comparable figure for the 2007 NAMCS was 34 percent (3).

 

Besides reporting on all or partial EMR/EHR systems, physicians reported the computerized functionalities in their practices. Systems defined as basic include the following functionalities: patient demographic information, patient problem lists, clinical notes, orders for prescriptions, and viewing laboratory and imaging results (4,5). Systems defined as fully functional include all functionalities of basic systems plus the following: medical history and follow-up, orders for tests, prescription and test orders sent electronically, warnings of drug interactions or contraindications, highlighting of out-of-range test levels, and reminders for guideline-based interventions (4,5). In 2008, about 16.7 percent of physicians reported having systems that met the criteria of a basic system, and about 4.4 percent reported that of a fully functional system. Comparable figures for basic and fully functional systems in the 2007 NAMCS were 11.8 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively (3).

 

According to preliminary estimates from the 2009 mail survey, 43.9 percent of the physicians reported using all or partial EMR/EHR systems (not including systems solely for billing) in their office-based practices. About 20.5 percent reported having systems that met the criteria of a basic system, and 6.3 percent reported that of a fully functional system. The Figure shows EMR/EHR use among office-based physicians from 2001 through the preliminary 2009 estimates. Because NAMCS did not collect data on some features of computerized systems prior to 2006, the trends for basic and fully functional systems start in 2006.

 

These data indicate that physicians have been increasingly adopting EMR/EHR systems. From 2007 to 2008, physicians’ use of any EMR system increased by 18.7 percent. Within the same period, the percentage of physicians reporting having systems that met the criteria of a basic system increased by 41.5 percent. The 2009 preliminary estimates did not change significantly from 2008.

 

AND MUCH MORE...including FIGURE at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.htm#figures

 

 

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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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