ONC survey: 41% of physicians to enter EHR incentive program
February 28, 2011Four-fifths of the nation’s hospitals, and 41 percent of office-based physicians, intend to take advantage of federal incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology, according to survey data released last month by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
The survey information was released as the registration period opened for the government’s Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs (see AOA News, January).
Some four-fifths of the office-based physicians who plan take part in the incentive program – about a third of all office-based physicians (32.4 percent) – plan to enroll during the first two years of the EHR initiative (termed Stage 1 by the ONC).
Only 14 percent of respondents said they were not planning to apply for meaningful use incentives.
Additional survey data from NCHS show that significantly increasing numbers of primary care physicians have already adopted a basic EHR, rising by 50 percent from 19.8 percent of primary care physicians in 2008 to 29.6 percent in 2010.
Basic EHRs provide a beginning point for use of electronic health records in physician offices, but most physicians with such EHRs will need to upgrade their systems, or their use of their systems, in order to qualify for meaningful use incentive payments, the ONC acknowledges.
David Blumenthal, M.D., the government’s National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said the survey numbers represent a reversal of the low interest in EHR adoption seen in previous years.
“The survey results suggest optometrists will have to move forward with EHR adoption in a timely manner in order to remain a viable part of the American primary health care system,” said Philip Gross, O.D., chair of the AOA Health Information Technology Subcommittee.
Additional survey results, as well as information on the federal EHR incentive programs and EHR systems for optometric practices can be found on the AOA Web site EHR page (www.aoa.org/EHR).
