EHR adoption challenges persist for older physicians, smaller practices

Though 63% of U.S. physicians reported having implemented a basic electronic health record system by 2013, older physicians and physicians in smaller practices may require additional support to meet the demands and challenges of successfully adopting and using an EHR, according to survey findings reported by Catherine DesRoches, Ph.D., at Mathematica Policy Research in Cambridge, Mass.

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In a survey of 3,437 physicians, 44% had adopted a basic EHR by 2011 (early adopters), and an additional 19% had adopted an EHR between 2011 and 2013 (new adopters), Dr. DesRoches said in the report.

Those who identified themselves as “nonadopters” (not planning to implement an EHR) on average were older and had fewer doctors employed at their main practice – an average of 2.3 physicians, compared with 33.4 physicians and 15.1 physicians for early and new adopters, respectively).

“Persistent nonadopters in small, isolated practices may be facing a unique set of challenges that limits their ability to adopt an EHR,” Dr. DesRoches noted. Read the full report in the Annals of Internal Medicine (2015;162:396).