Study: Small, rural practices can adopt health IT

A new report from the American Academy of Family Physicians offers encouraging results for those who fear health IT overhead and technical issues could stall its implementation indefinitely. The report, which draws on the AAFP's National Demonstration Project, concludes that small and rural practices can effectively roll out key health IT initiatives, such as EMRs and web portals.

The pilot study, which ran for two years, focused on how well the patient-centered medical home model worked in 36 practices across the U.S. Researchers found that 14 of 31 practices--including 12 small private practices--rolled out web portals, and that 15 established chronic disease registries, including 10 small practices.

The smaller practices did need help with choosing EMRs, and some needed support in integrating new health IT systems with their existing systems, but these apparently weren't a major barrier to adoption overall. Rural practices are especially well-positioned to implement health IT measures, as they're used to being nimble and handling tough issues on their own, researchers said.

To learn more about this study:
- read this iHealthBeat item

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