A Progress Report On Electronic Health Records In U.S. Hospitals

Given the substantial federal financial incentives soon to be available to providers who make "meaningful use" of electronic health records, tracking the progress of this health care technology conversion is a policy priority. Using a recent survey of U.S. hospitals, we found that the shar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2010-10, Vol.29 (10), p.1951-1957
Main Authors: Jha, Ashish K, DesRoches, Catherine M, Kralovec, Peter D, Joshi, Maulik S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009-US
Bias
Computerized physician order entry
Electronic health records
Federal government
Federal legislation
Health care
Health care policy
Health policy
Health surveys
Hospitals
Incentives
Information technology
Medical service
Monetary incentives
Order entry
Polls & surveys
Progress
Records
Rural health care
Statistical data
Technology adoption
United States
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Summary:Given the substantial federal financial incentives soon to be available to providers who make "meaningful use" of electronic health records, tracking the progress of this health care technology conversion is a policy priority. Using a recent survey of U.S. hospitals, we found that the share of hospitals that had adopted either basic or comprehensive electronic records has risen modestly, from 8.7 percent in 2008 to 11.9 percent in 2009. Small, public, and rural hospitals were less likely to embrace electronic records than their larger, private, and urban counterparts. Only 2 percent of U.S. hospitals reported having electronic health records that would allow them to meet the federal government's "meaningful use" criteria. These findings underscore the fact that the transition to a digital health care system is likely to be a long one. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0502