Study: Only 2.8% of children's hospitals have comprehensive EHR
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Mari M. Nakamura, MD, MPH, from the division of infectious diseases, department of medicine, and information services department at Children's Hospital Boston, and colleagues sought to assess adoption of EHRs and clinical functionalities, involvement in health information exchange (HIE) and barriers to and facilitators of adoption among children's hospitals in the U.S.
In 2008, a survey measuring the rates of EHR adoption was presented as an IT supplement to the American Hospital Association's annual member survey, and was distributed to CIOs or equivalents at general acute care children's hospitals. The measure was determined by rates of implementation for individual functionalities and participation in HIE, among other criteria.
Based on responses from 108 children’s hospitals, only 2.8 percent had a comprehensive EHR, although an additional 17.9 percent had a basic system, according to the article.
Adoption of individual functions varied widely; comprehensive implementations of computerized provider order entry and many forms of decision support were reported by fewer than half of the hospitals. In all, 15.7 percent of hospitals exchanged health information electronically.
Hospital characteristics were not associated with EHR adoption or participation in HIE, and hospitals identified financing as the most important target for policy strategies, Nakamura and colleagues reported. “Ensuring access to adequate financial resources will be critical for inclusion of children's hospitals in efforts to expand EHR use.”