Survey: Physician EMR use rose slightly in 2009
Physicians have been increasingly adopting EMR systems, with an estimated 43.9 percent of physicians using a fully or partially functional EMR system in their office-based practices in 2009, according to an annual survey from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
The 2009 NCHS' National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) preliminary findings were based on 2,000 mail surveys, collected between March 2009 and June 2009. The response rate was 74 percent. The NCHS estimated that 6.3 percent of physicians used fully functioning EMR systems in 2009 and 20.5 percent used a basic EMR system.
These findings echo the 2008 NAMCS results, which also showed physicians' increasing use of EMR. In 2008, the NAMCS revealed that 41.5 percent of physicians adopted an EMR system in their office-based practice; a 6.7 percent increase from 2007's 34.8 percent.
The 2008 NAMCS survey was conducted through a representative survey of patient visits to 3,200 office-based physicians and a supplementary mail survey on EMR use sent to 2,000 physicians. Samples of physicians stratified by specialty were selected from 112 geographic areas across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The response rate for the 2008 combined surveys was 64 percent, according to NCHS.
NCHS will produce a final estimate of 2009 EMR/EHR use when it has finished data collection. The results will be based on the combined results of the 2009 mail survey and core data, NCHS stated.
The 2009 NCHS' National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) preliminary findings were based on 2,000 mail surveys, collected between March 2009 and June 2009. The response rate was 74 percent. The NCHS estimated that 6.3 percent of physicians used fully functioning EMR systems in 2009 and 20.5 percent used a basic EMR system.
These findings echo the 2008 NAMCS results, which also showed physicians' increasing use of EMR. In 2008, the NAMCS revealed that 41.5 percent of physicians adopted an EMR system in their office-based practice; a 6.7 percent increase from 2007's 34.8 percent.
The 2008 NAMCS survey was conducted through a representative survey of patient visits to 3,200 office-based physicians and a supplementary mail survey on EMR use sent to 2,000 physicians. Samples of physicians stratified by specialty were selected from 112 geographic areas across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The response rate for the 2008 combined surveys was 64 percent, according to NCHS.
NCHS will produce a final estimate of 2009 EMR/EHR use when it has finished data collection. The results will be based on the combined results of the 2009 mail survey and core data, NCHS stated.