Study: EMR adoption rates at hospitals still near rock-bottom

Think the prospect of an IT stimulus has gotten hospitals all hot and bothered over idea of implementing EMRs? Well, not really, if a new study published by the New England Journal of Medicine is on target.

The study concluded that only about 8 percent of the 3,000 hospitals studied by researchers used even a basic EMR in a single unit, which included nurse or physician notes. And only 1.5 percent of non-federal U.S. facilities use a comprehensive EMR.

Hospitals participating in the study said that cost and physician resistance to change were probably the top reasons for holding off on bigger EMR investments, according to a separate study by the American Hospital Association. The researchers concluded that physicians were concerned that getting used to new EMRs could harm productivitiy.

An AHA study published last year concluded that only 17 percent of doctors are using a basic EMR system with clinical notes, and only 4 percent are using comprehensive EMRs.

To learn more about the study:
- read this American Medical News piece [1]

Related Articles:
HIMSS report: $25 billion stimulus needed to help speed EMR adoption [2]
Adoption of PHRs could save up to $21 billion annually [3]
HIMSS objects to parts of Stark health IT bill [4]
HIMSS names four global EMR implementation trends [5]