Report: few doctors using EHRs.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Electronic health records - Survey

A recent report published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that even though doctors who use electronic health records (EHRs) said the records have improved the quality and timeliness of care, fewer than one in five U.S. doctors is using EHRs.

According to the national survey, e-records were used in less than 9 percent of small offices with one to three doctors, where nearly half of U.S. doctors practice medicine. The report also found that EHRs were used in 51 percent of larger practices, with 50 or more doctors. Still, the adoption rate of U.S. doctors and hospitals, according to the survey of 2,600 doctors nationwide, trails most developed nations.

The survey suggests that the slow adoption rates have to do with the cost of implementing electronic records systems. However, experts said moving patient records into the electronic age is critical to improving health care, reducing errors, and containing rising costs.

According to The New York Times, insurers and hospitals can save money as a result of less paper handling, lower administration expenses, and fewer unnecessary lab tests when they are connected to EHRs in doctors' offices. Still, it is mainly doctors who must make the initial investment.

Some experts suggest that the government should provide incentives or subsidies to speed the use of computerized patient records in the United States. The government recently announced a $150 million Medicare project that will offer doctors incentives to move from paper to EHRs. The program is intended to help up to 1,200 small practices in 12 cities and states make the transition. Individual doctors will be offered up to $58,000 over the five-year span of the project, which is...