Health IT initiatives have been on the rise since the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Recently, department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius provided some key statistics to support the claim that there is an increase in electronic health records (EHR) adoption as well. In a press release made public on May 22, 2013, HHS announced that it had met and exceeded its goal for 50% of doctor offices and 80% of eligible hospitals to have EHRs by the end of 2013.
“We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records,” Sebelius said. “More than half of eligible professionals and 80% of eligible hospitals have adopted these systems, which are critical to modernizing our health care system. Health IT helps providers better coordinate care, which can improve patients’ health and save money at the same time.”
In contrast to some of the low adoption rates seen during 2008, this increase has shown that despite the challenges that some have faced during the implementation of an EHR system, more physicians are recognizing the value they can gain from them.
The press release included the following statistics:
- More than 291,000 eligible professionals and over 3,800 eligible hospitals have received incentive payments from the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
- Approximately 80% of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals in the U.S. have received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading, or meaningfully using an EHR.
- More than half of physicians and other eligible professionals in the U.S. have received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading, or meaningfully using an EHR.