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Practice Fusion · Mar 1, 2017

EHR adoption rates: 20 must-see stats

Less than a decade ago, nine out of ten doctors in the U.S. updated their patients’ records by hand and stored them in color-coded files. By the end of 2017, approximately 90% of office-based physicians nationwide will be using electronic health records (EHRs). Health records are changing quickly — here’s a snapshot of the current EHR landscape:

Support for EHR adoption

  1. The annual healthcare spending of the country reached ~$2.9 trillion in 2011. It’s expected to soar to $3.5 trillion by 2015. (Source)
  2. Medical errors cost $19.5 billion a year, and maybe as much as $1 trillion a year when accounting for lost productivity. (Source)
  3. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer.

EHR adoption rates

  1. In March 2017, 67% of all providers reported using an EHR, a 1% increase over September 2016. Source: SKA
  2. As of 2015, about 9 in 10 (87%) of office-based physicians had adopted an electronic health records (EHR) and it represents a 4% increase from the year prior. (Source)
  3. Since 2008, office-based physician adoption of an EHR has nearly doubled, from 42% to 87%. (Source)
  4. According to a 2015 National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS), 87% of physicians reported using an EHR system and 78% reported using a Certified EHR system. (A basic system is a system that has all of the following functionalities: patient history and demographics, patient problem lists, physician clinical notes, comprehensive lists of patients’ medications and allergies, computerized orders for prescriptions, and the ability to view laboratory and imaging results electronically. A certified system was defined by physicians answering “yes” to having a current system that “meets meaningful use criteria defined by the Department of Health and Human Services.”). (Source)
  5. Physician specialties with the highest adoption rates are internal medicine / pediatrics (76%), nephrology (75%), family practice (75%) and urology (74%). (Source)
  6. The states with the highest adoption rates are Wyoming (79%), South Dakota (77%), Utah (75%), Iowa (75%), and North Dakota (74%). (Source)

EHR Adoption Rates 2012-2016

Year EHR Adoption Rate
2012 40%
2013 48%
2014 50%
2015 63%
2016 66%
2017 67%

Meaningful Use achievement

  1. As of March 2014, eligible providers participating in Meaningful Use have received $22.9 billion in EHR incentive payments since the program’s first payout in 2011.
  2. Over 370,000 providers have earned Meaningful Use incentives.
  3. About three-quarters of physicians who have adopted an EHR system reported that their system meets Meaningful Use criteria. (Source)
  4. As of June 2015, nearly 8 in 10 of all REC enrolled Priority Primary Care Providers (PPCPs) are demonstrating meaningful use (MU) of certified EHR technology (CEHRT). (Source)
  5. As of June 2015, 94 percent of REC-enrolled PPCPs (134,978 providers) have an EHR installed and are routinely using the technology, and over 77 percent of all REC-enrolled PPCPs (110,107 providers) had demonstrated Meaningful Use of CEHRT and provided richer functionality of MU, including: clinical quality reporting, e-prescribing, and medication reconciliation. (Source)

EHR costs

  1. In 2015, spending on electronic systems by providers could grow 88%, to an estimated $37 billion. (Source)
  2. Roughly 45% of providers reported spending more than $100,000 on an EHR. (Source)
  3. 98% of providers identified their EHR as one of the biggest increases for IT spending. (Source)
  4. 67% of providers anticipate increasing their IT spending by 10% or more in 2014. (Source)

EHR vendors

  1. Currently, there are roughly 1100 vendors that offer an EHR — twice the number of vendors 4 years ago. (Source)
  2. 51.6% of providers reported the top criteria category for selecting an EHR was Connectivity or Meaningful Use Achievement. 43.2% cited system and implementation costs. (Source)
  3. The most popular EHR platforms (Source)
  4. More than 40% of hospital executives are either indifferent or dissatisfied with their current EHR system. (Source)
  5. 67% of providers reported not liking the functionality of their EHR systems. (Source)