Report: Financial incentives driving rollout of electronic health records

Electronic exchange of information, meanwhile, was a major factor in the decision to adopt EHRs for 27 percent of physicians prior to the incentive program and for 36 percent afterwards.

Financial incentives continue to lead more healthcare providers to adopt electronic health records, according to a data brief from the Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Among physicians who adopted EHRs after the passage of the HITECH Act, a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the incentive payments authorized under the 2009 federal stimulus were a major part of the decision for 62 percent, according to the 2013 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Prior to that, financial incentives, largely by commercial payers, were a major factor for only 23 percent of physicians.

Electronic exchange of information, meanwhile, was a major factor in the decision to adopt EHRs for 27 percent of physicians prior to the incentive program and for 36 percent afterwards.

“We have seen a significant increase in the adoption and use of health IT systems among providers and the new data shows the importance of incentives in building an interoperable health IT system,” said Karen DeSalvo, MD, national coordinator for health IT and acting assistant secretary of health.

[See also: 5 ways to maximize revenue from an EHR.]

“National delivery system reform initiatives linked to certified technology, such as the separately billable chronic care management services, will help make the electronic use and sharing of health information a reality.”

Advocates for EHRs tout their benefits in patient-centered healthcare since patient information follows them wherever they end up receiving health services, especially in unexpected emergency cases.

Exchange of data is also necessary for Medicare’s expanding Physician Quality Reporting System, accountable care contracts and patient-centered medical homes.

DeSalvo said the need for exchange was also the greatest motivator for adoption of EHRs before the advent of the health IT incentive program. And almost 4 in 10 physicians who have were using an EHR at the time of the survey said that the ability to electronically exchange clinical information would be a major driver in their decision to adopt.