The implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) has been a goal of the U.S. government for many years. The use of information technology in healthcare has amazing potential, but the process has turned out to be very slow. Less than a decade ago, 9 out of 10 doctors in the US updated their patient’s records by hand and stored them in color-coded files. By the end of 2017, approximately 90% of physicians nationwide are now using EHRs. Overall, just under 70% of all providers have reported using an EHR. These are good numbers but shows that there is still an opportunity for the use of IT in healthcare. The infographic below outlines adoption and usage by specialty and state, meaningful use achievements, and EHR satisfaction. There is a lot of room for improvement and growth.
The statistics above, sourced from multiple locations, indicate that while users are more than satisfied with their EHR systems, the biggest areas for improvement include interoperability with medical devices, new features, and interoperability with other clinical systems. There is no doubt the continued adoption of EHR systems will help US health system evolve, however, innovation and continued advancement in technologies is needed before we see 100% adoption and usages.
