Most physicians planned to apply for EHR incentive in 2013

Sixty-nine percent of physicians had applied or planned to apply for the federal electronic-health-record incentive program in 2013, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (P.L. 111-5), physicians can receive federal subsidies if they adopt EHRs and demonstrate meaningful use of the technology.

While intent to participate in the incentive program was widespread, only 13 percent of physicians said they intended to participate and had EHR systems that met the bulk of the requirements to demonstrate meaningful use. For example, systems must be able to provide secure messaging to communicate with patients, generate lists of patients who have certain conditions, and record changes in vital signs.

The CDC's annual, nationally representative survey (.pdf) of office-based physicians included more than 10,000 physicians in the 2013 sample.

The agency found that nearly 83 percent of physicians in North Dakota have a basic EHR system, the highest rate in the country. Nationwide, the average is 48 percent. Minnesota and Massachusetts also topped 70 percent, with Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah and Oregon close behind. New Jersey had the lowest rate, just 21 percent. Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming were also below 40 percent.

A basic EHR system is one that includes patient history and demographics, patient problem lists, physicians' clinical notes, patients' medications and allergies, computerized prescription orders, and electronic views of laboratory and imaging results.

The adoption rate of basic EHR systems has more than doubled since 2009. Additionally, more than three-fourths of physicians have some kind of EHR system, other than just a billing system.

For more:

- download the report, "Use and Characteristics of Electronic Health Record Systems Among Office-based Physician Practices: United States, 2001-2013" (.pdf)

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