MHA Press Room

IT use in hospitals continues to grow, AHA survey finds

Hospitals continue to accelerate their use of health information technology, with 68% reporting that electronic health records had been fully or partially implemented as of fall 2006, according to the American Hospital Association's second annual survey of hospital health IT use.

"Hospitals are constantly seeking tools to improve the quality of care and patient safety," AHA President Rich Umbdenstock told reporters in a teleconference on the survey results. "Health IT can make a real difference for better and safer care."

Cost is the greatest barrier to greater adoption of health IT, with urban hospitals, teaching hospitals and larger hospitals more likely to afford the investment, the survey found. 

Few U.S. hospitals, physicians have adopted EHRs, survey finds

Financial, technical and legal barriers are keeping many physicians and hospitals from adopting electronic health records, according to a study published online October 11 by Health Affairs. The authors, from Massachusetts General Hospital and George Washington University, found insufficient data to determine hospital adoption trends but said best estimates indicate only 5% of U.S. hospitals have implemented computerized physician order entry, the best indicator in existing surveys for EHR use.

The report, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, found only one in four doctors use EHRs. The authors said improved definitions for EHR and “adoption” are needed to better measure adoption trends.

[ via AHA News Now ]