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Recent years have witnessed a sustained push for EHRs (electronic health records), but the movement enjoyed a massive surge recently, thanks to the economic stimulus package. As part of that package, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act, will inject nearly $20 billion in incentives and funding designed to boost the overall efficiency of the healthcare system through technology.
Indeed, many healthcare facilities already recognize EHRs as the future. In a recent study sponsored by Imprivata, 73% of surveyed healthcare IT decision makers and executives identified EHRs as their top IT budget investment priority in 2009. However, the study also found that there’s plenty of work ahead, as only 33% of respondents stated that 75 to 100% of their medical records are in EHR format, while another 22% are in the 51 to 75 percentage range.
The barriers to successful EHR implementation are numerous, ranging from extensive security and privacy concerns to questions of legality and access. Despite these inherent challenges, healthcare executives remain a determined bunch—87% of respondents in the Imprivata study said they plan to transfer all of their patient data to the EHR format within two years.
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