EHR Adoption Slow in Smaller Practices; CMS Incentive Payments Reach $4.4 Billion

The use of electronic health record (EHR) systems is still more common in large physician groups and hospitals than among smaller organizations, and many systems lack basic features, concludes a study published in the April 2012 Health Affairs. Basic features include the abilities to record information on patient demographics, view laboratory and imaging results, maintain problem lists, collect clinical notes, and manage computerized prescription ordering. By 2011, 24.2% of physicians in solo or two-physician practices had adopted a basic EHR system compared with 37.1% of groups with three to nine physicians and 60% of physicians in groups of 10 or more providers. About 34.2% of physicians outside of metropolitan areas had basic EHR systems in 2011, while 39.4% in metropolitan areas did.