Family physicians are adopting electronic health records (EHRs) at a much faster rate than earlier 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 doubling since 2005, with researchers estimating that the adoption rate will exceed 80 percent by the end of 2013, if current trends continue.
"One of the purposes of the study was to try to get a bead on adoption rates," said Andrew Bazemore, MD, director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Primary Care, and co-author of the study. "The variation in reported primary care adoption was so wide, we really felt the need to reconcile."
Using data sets from the American Board of Family Medicine and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers found EHR adoption rates among family physicians in 2011 to be higher (67 percent) than other office-based specialties (55 percent).
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.
There's good reason for this, however, said Michael Leu, MD, co-author of the pediatric study. "Even if the pediatricians are adopting the systems, the systems they're adopting don't have the features that would really make the practice easier," he said. "Pediatric systems have to be designed so they're a little bit more complicated."
Only until vendors start designing EHR systems to be more pediatric-friendly, such as having weight-based dosing, Leu said the numbers for pediatricians will continue to be lower.
Researchers also point to differences that go beyond specialties. According to Bazemore's study, there exist geographical differences in EHR adoption rates.
Family physicians in Georgia (70 percent); Massachusetts (82 percent); Minnesota (83 percent); New Hampshire (81 percent) and Utah (95 percent), for example, had significantly higher adoption rates in comparison to states with much lower numbers such as Florida (58 percent); Illinois (55 percent); Michigan (53 percent) and Ohio (53 percent).
North Dakota has the most work to do, as it has the lowest numbers in the country, with family physicians having an overall EHR adoption rate of only 47 percent.
"I was less surprised and more encouraged that family physicians seem to be reporting some level of EHR use," Bazemore added. "It's only the laggards that seem to be left. That's a pretty good place to be."
Among specialty physicians, Louisiana ranked lowest for EHR adoption, with a paltry 38 percent of providers using them. Kentucky (39.7 percent), Florida (42 percent) and New Jersey (42.2 percent) specialty physicians were also among the lowest.
By contrast, states with the highest percentage of EHR adopters among non-family physicians include Utah (76 percent); Wisconsin (75 percent); Minnesota (77 percent) and North Dakota (86.3 percent).
Based on current trends, Bazemore expects to see adoption rates around 95 percent in the next few years.
Despite researchers predicting impressive EHR adoption rates by year's end, many are quick to point out the all-too-familiar adage: quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality.
"When you ask the yes/no question, 'Are you using electronic health records?' You are giving absolute minimum credence to minimum use that may in no way reflect meaningful use," said Bazemore.
Others expressed similar sentiments. "It is one thing for adoption rates to be high ... and quite another for the outcomes of adoption to be proven to meet professional, patient/consumer, and societal goals for improvement," wrote David Kibbe, senior advisor at the American Academy of Family Physicians, on the study's comment page.
The lack of interoperability, he wrote, "limits the use of EHRs for worthwhile tasks such as care coordination, transitional care management, and patient engagement and participation in care."
The study was conducted by researchers at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Georgetown University Medical Center, National Center for Health Statistics, University of Colorado Denver, The Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care and Medstar Franklin Square Hospital.
