How common are electronic health records in the United States? A summary of the evidence.

Full Abstract

Electronic health records (EHRs) are promising tools to improve quality and efficiency in health care, but data on their adoption rate are limited. We identified surveys on EHR adoption and assessed their quality. Although surveys returned widely different estimates of EHR use, when available information is limited to studies of high or medium quality, national estimates are possible:
Through 2005, approximately 23.9 percent of physicians used EHRs in the ambulatory setting, while 5 percent of hospitals used computerized physician order entry. Large gaps in knowledge, including information about EHR use among safety-net providers, pose critical challenges for the development of policies aimed at speeding adoption.

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Author information

Author/s: Jha, Ashish K (AK); Ferris, Timothy G (TG); Donelan, Karen (K); DesRoches, Catherine (C); Shields, Alexandra (A); Rosenbaum, Sara (S); Blumenthal, David (D);

Affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ajha(-atsign-)hsph.harvard.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Health affairs (Project Hope) (Health Aff (Millwood)), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2006 Nov-Dec; vol 25 (issue 6) : pp w496-507

Dates: Created 2006/11/14; Completed 2007/04/26;

PMID: 17035341, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Ambulatory Care Information Systems - statistics & numerical data
Diffusion of Innovation
Health Care Surveys
Hospital Information Systems - statistics & numerical data
Humans

Medical Order Entry Systems - utilization
Medical Records Systems, Computerized - utilization
Michigan
Organizational Innovation
United States

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