CDC’s National Center for
Health Statistics is issuing a new Health E-Stat today entitled “Electronic
Medical Record Use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2005.”
The E-Stat is the latest
look at the growing trend towards electronic record-keeping in the medical
community. Some of the key findings in the report include:
Nearly
1 in 4 (23.9 percent) physicians reported using full or partial
electronic medical records (EMRs) in their office-based practice in 2005 -- a
31 percent increase from the 18.2 percent reported in 2001.
Physicians
in the Midwest (26.9 percent) and West (33.4 percent) were more likely to
use EMRs than those in the Northeast (14.4 percent).
Physicians
in metropolitan statistical areas (nearly 24.8 percent) were more likely to
use EMRs than were those in non-metropolitan areas (16.9).
Only
1 in 10 (9.3 percent) physicians, however, used EMRs with all four of the
basic functions (computerized orders for prescriptions, computerized orders
for tests, reporting of test results, and physician notes) considered
necessary for a complete EMR system.