EHR Adoption Could Exceed 80 Percent By End Of 2013, New Study Finds

Family physicians, Utah practitioners among top adopters

Family physicians are adopting electronic health records (EHRs) at a much faster rate than previous data suggested, reaching a nearly 70 percent adoption rate nationwide, new study findings reveal. The study, published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, shows EHR adoption by family physicians has doubled since 2005, with researchers estimating that the adoption rate will exceed 80 percent by the end of 2013.

Findings also reveal a higher percentage of EHR adoption among physicians in comparison to a July 2012 study conducted by the CDC's Center for National Health Statistics, which reported that 55 percent of office-based physicians had adopted EHRs. EHR adoption rates among family physicians, however, have also been shown to be higher than other office-based specialties. One November study, for example, reported that pediatricians had some of the lowest adoption rates of EHR systems, with a paltry 41 percent indicating they had EHRs...