Time, Money Keeping Physicians From Adopting Electronic Health Record Systems

Sixty-six percent of physicians without electronic health record systems reported that the finances needed to invest in the technology was a barrier to implementing it, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study was written by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Harvard Medical School, Weill Cornell Medical College and George Washington University.

The results were based on a survey conducted by researchers at RTI International of almost 3,000 physicians nationwide between September 2007 and March 2008. Researchers at RTI collected all the data for the study and assisted with the study’s design.

In addition to finances, more than half of the responding physicians without an electronic health record system cited not finding a system that met their needs as a barrier to adoption. About half mentioned uncertainty about their return on investment and nearly half said their concern that a system would be obsolete was a barrier to adoption.

According to the survey, most physicians who had electronic health records systems reported being satisfied with them, but only 4 percent of U.S. physicians had fully functional electronic health record system and 13 percent had basic systems.

This study extends RTI’s work in the health information technology field. Among its projects, RTI developed a web-based information system that keeps track of individuals as they move through the health care system following a large-scale crisis event, and created the national patient safety network, a web-based system for reporting adverse medical events that assists the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in tracking health concerns.

RTI researchers are also working with thirty-three states and Puerto Rico to define privacy and security approaches for electronic health information exchange, and are developing standards for personal health records, using a PDA-based approach to deliver and track an intervention for sedentary adults at risk for chronic diseases.

Source: RTI News Release

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