Over the past decade, the EHR marketplace has become a burgeoning industry, with the number of EHR adopters increasing in parallel. Spurring and impacting the latter’s investment in EHR adoption are several pits of federal regulation and mandates.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology also plays a central role in physician and hospital EHR adoption, primarily through EHR certification. Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, ONC was charged with establishing requirements for EHR certification which in turn CMS uses for meaningful use and other health IT-related programs.
Several industry stakeholders have cited the effect MACRA may have on increasing EHR adoption, including Beth Israel Deaconess CIO John D. Halamka, MD, MS. According to Halamka, MACRA could make a suitable replacement to achieve the goals of widespread EHR adoption upon which meaningful use was developed.
Some EHR Adoption Statistics
The latest data brief made available on the HealthIT.gov Dashboard puts the percentage of hospitals with CEHRT at 96 percent in 2015, down nearly a full percentage point from 2014's figure of 96.9 percent. Hospital adoption of basic EHR technology, meanwhile, rose from 75.5 percent in 2014 to 83.8 percent in 2015. All told, since 2008 hospital adoption of the latter rose by nearly nine times, from 9.4 percent to the current figure.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have partnered on an initiative that aims to...
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Congressman Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), and Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) have introduced an act to support behavioral health...
Primary Care Joliet, an Illinois-based healthcare organization, has initiated an eClinicalWorks EHR implementation.
This recent move aims to streamline administrative workflows, thereby reducing costs...
Emory Healthcare in Georgia has announced a collaboration with health IT vendor Experis Health Solutions to support Epic EHR usability.
The strategic partnership aims to improve the digital...
Central Virginia Health Services, Inc. (CVHS), a federally qualified health center (FQHC), has upgraded to the latest eClinicalWorks’ EHR system, V12, to enhance clinical documentation...
The Bellevue Hospital (TBH), an Ohio-based not-for-profit community hospital, went live with a MEDITECH Expanse EHR, which will unify patient records across all its care locations.
The...
Mindful Care, an urgent mental healthcare organization, has announced that it has tapped NextGen for an upcoming EHR implementation across the entire system.
With headquarters in West Hempstead, NY,...
An Epic EHR implementation is starting after Mercy and Perry County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees recently finalized their lease agreement allowing Mercy to operate and manage the county-owned...
A new ONC report to Congress outlines the significant impact of the 21st Century Cures Act on health IT interoperability.
As of 2021, nearly all non-federal acute care hospitals (96 percent) and 4 in...
Pennsylvania-based Evangelical Community Hospital has decided to move forward with an Epic Systems EHR implementation as a part of the community hospital’s effort to modernize the patient intake...
Nebraska-based Methodist Health System has announced its commitment to a ten-year contract extension with Oracle Cerner, which will continue access to the full suite of Oracle Cerner...
The use of EHRs has resulted in improved quality of care, according to a study published in Journal for Healthcare Quality.
In 2011, CMS established the “Meaningful Use” program, now known...
Maryland-based Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC) has received $650,000 in community funding to start an Epic EHR implementation, according to Cumberland Times-News reporting.
The funding...
Iowa-based Washington County Hospital and Clinics (WCHC) was recently granted over three-quarters of a million dollars from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help fund an Epic EHR...
Twelve WVU Medicine hospitals and over 500 clinics were recently recognized with HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)
Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model...
Pacific Dental Services (PDS) has successfully completed an Epic EHR implementation project across its roughly 900 supported dental practices.
In slightly over two years, PDS converted more than 9.7...
Despite widespread EHR adoption, clinical communication gaps between primary care physicians (PCPs) and specialists persist, according to a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine.
Poor...
The Department of Defense is confident that its EHR implementation, MHS GENESIS, will be deployed on schedule and completed by the end of 2023, according to reporting from FedScoop.
In light of...
Atlanta-based healthcare system Piedmont has successfully launched an Epic EHR implementation at its five newest hospitals.
In August 2021, Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Piedmont Eastside...
EHR Vendor Epic Systems had the greatest market share growth in 2021, significantly outperforming its competition once again, according to a KLAS market share report based on acute care...