In a recent survey of Texas physicians, the Texas Medical Association published results of a survey of Electronic Health Record (EHR) usage. The results show an increasing adoption rate, consistent with other surveys elsewhere.
The overall percentage of physicians who report EHR use rose to 43% in 2009 – up from 33% in 2007, and 27% in 2005. There was not any criterion asking whether the systems used were “certified” – just whether they were using something other than paper.
Not surprisingly, more younger physicians reported using EHRs, and older physicians numbered more among those who do not plan to implement one.
Of note, 14% of physicians who had used an EHR previously either discarded it or replaced it. Most of these (85%) replaced it with another EHR.
Cost and usability were among the main drivers for EHR adoption. In the Texas survey, EHR purchase, training and implementation costs averaged $18,000 per physician (down from $25,000 in 2007), with monthly maintenance costs averaging $350 per physician (down from $425 in 2007). There clearly is a downward pressure on EHR costs, as they become more of a commodity than an investment - web-based, hosted services play a role in this.
Physicians mainly liked using their EHRs for electronic charting and e-prescribing. Difficult methods of data input, introducing new errors as a result, and reduced productivity were the main down-sides reported. The concerns were aggregated across all the different systems used by physicians who completed the survey, and are thus testaments to the contemporary state of the EHR industry.
As the EHR industry rapidly evolves, and easy interconnectivity becomes more the standard, the expectations of what a physician looks for in an EHR will change.
Practice Fusion looks at these kinds of surveys as a sort of report card of the current state of the sector. With its web-based EHR offered as a free service, the cost question becomes simply the cost of local internet-connected computers (no need for servers, networks or other additional IT infrastructure). Training and support are free.
The orientation of Practice Fusion is focused on ambulatory EHR needs, and in particular has enjoyed rapid adoption in solo and small group practices, especially primary care practices. Certainly, price has been one of the main factors. But additionally, a clean and intuitive interface makes adoption pretty quick. Practice Fusion users generally have not experienced any significant dip in productivity while they learn the system and make the transition (certainly not in comparison to other, more cumbersome EHRs) – and the numbers speak for themselves: over 28,000 users, adding about 100 a day.
Looking at the “what I like least about my EHR” list, above, Practice Fusion has built (or is building) answers to these. Usability is central to product design; interfacing with other providers (such as through the Chart Share feature that is being rolled out) is addressed; historical documents can be captured through Scanned Document upload; increasingly robust reporting is being continuously added; and a great deal of behind-the-scenes work is being done to ensure system reliability, responsiveness, privacy and security.
Robert Rowley, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Practice Fusion, Inc.
The overall percentage of physicians who report EHR use rose to 43% in 2009 – up from 33% in 2007, and 27% in 2005. There was not any criterion asking whether the systems used were “certified” – just whether they were using something other than paper.
Not surprisingly, more younger physicians reported using EHRs, and older physicians numbered more among those who do not plan to implement one.Of note, 14% of physicians who had used an EHR previously either discarded it or replaced it. Most of these (85%) replaced it with another EHR.
Cost and usability were among the main drivers for EHR adoption. In the Texas survey, EHR purchase, training and implementation costs averaged $18,000 per physician (down from $25,000 in 2007), with monthly maintenance costs averaging $350 per physician (down from $425 in 2007). There clearly is a downward pressure on EHR costs, as they become more of a commodity than an investment - web-based, hosted services play a role in this.
Physicians mainly liked using their EHRs for electronic charting and e-prescribing. Difficult methods of data input, introducing new errors as a result, and reduced productivity were the main down-sides reported. The concerns were aggregated across all the different systems used by physicians who completed the survey, and are thus testaments to the contemporary state of the EHR industry.
As the EHR industry rapidly evolves, and easy interconnectivity becomes more the standard, the expectations of what a physician looks for in an EHR will change.Practice Fusion looks at these kinds of surveys as a sort of report card of the current state of the sector. With its web-based EHR offered as a free service, the cost question becomes simply the cost of local internet-connected computers (no need for servers, networks or other additional IT infrastructure). Training and support are free.
The orientation of Practice Fusion is focused on ambulatory EHR needs, and in particular has enjoyed rapid adoption in solo and small group practices, especially primary care practices. Certainly, price has been one of the main factors. But additionally, a clean and intuitive interface makes adoption pretty quick. Practice Fusion users generally have not experienced any significant dip in productivity while they learn the system and make the transition (certainly not in comparison to other, more cumbersome EHRs) – and the numbers speak for themselves: over 28,000 users, adding about 100 a day.
Looking at the “what I like least about my EHR” list, above, Practice Fusion has built (or is building) answers to these. Usability is central to product design; interfacing with other providers (such as through the Chart Share feature that is being rolled out) is addressed; historical documents can be captured through Scanned Document upload; increasingly robust reporting is being continuously added; and a great deal of behind-the-scenes work is being done to ensure system reliability, responsiveness, privacy and security.
Robert Rowley, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Practice Fusion, Inc.
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