Falling Behind: United State’s EHR Adoption Rate

While it may seem like everyone and their nurse have adopted electronic health records, statistics show the United States is one of the slowest countries in the race to adopt. While the US tends to rise above other countries in other business sectors, we are severely lagging in health IT.  Ninety-eight percent of primary-care providers based in the Netherlands have gone paperless, 92 percent in New Zealand, and 89 percent in Australia, according to a Commonwealth survey. The US does not even come close compare when you break down the stats.

According to a CompTIA survey, only 47 percent of US medical providers have adopted various forms of health IT, 34 percent say they are using a full electronic health record system while 16 percent say they’re only using a partial system. Twenty-nine percent are weighing their options and 20 percent are too busy trying to read their own handwriting to even look into EHRs.  

With the HITECH stimulus incentives, one would think everyone would be jumping on the EHR train but there are many barriers that are holding providers back from adoption. EHR MVP a.k.a. National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, M.D., MPP, provided his opinion of the top four barriers we need to overcome:

1. Lack of sufficient funds
2. Lack of necessary infrastructure needed to support exchange of health IT such as old equipment
3. Confusion and concern among providers about what type of system to go with and the possibility of out datedness
4.  The need to convince the consumer that health information and data will be kept private and de-identified

Thanks to meaningful use incentives, these four reasons will soon dissipate once the money begins to flow, seeing as doctors will be able to decipher which EHRs are certified and which are going to help them qualify for the big bucks (ahem, Practice Fusion). 

Think Blumenthal is missing a few reasons for lack of adoption? Share your thoughts and comment!