Few doctors adopting EHR, but ones who do are overwelmingly pleased

A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that less than 20 percent of doctors have adopted an electronic health records system, although the ones that have sing its praises (Source: "Most Doctors Aren’t Using Electronic Health Records," New York Times, June 19, 2008) .

The report, published online Wednesday and jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that doctors overwhelmingly say that EHR systems improve the quality and timeliness of care. However, they are reluctant to invest in EHR systems, especially those in small offices. In fact, less than 9 percent of offices with three or fewer doctors have purchased an EHR system. By contrast, 51 percent of practices with 50 or more doctors use electronic health records.

In response to the reluctance of many doctors to transition to electronic health records, the government announced last week a $150 million project, through Medicare, to offer incentives to doctors in small practices who adopt EHR systems in 12 cities and states. Individual doctors will be offered as much as $58,000 over the five-year span of the project, which is intended to test the impact of incentives on the spread of electronic health records.