Enabling Quality: Electronic Health Record Adoption and Meaningful Use Readiness in Federally Funded Health Centers

Abstract:The Health Resources and Services Administration has supported the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by federally funded health centers for over a decade; however, little is known about health centers’ current EHR adoption rates, progress toward Meaningful Use, and factors related to adoption. We analyzed cross-sectional data from all 1,128 health centers in 2011, which served over 20 million patients during that year. As of 2011, 80% of health centers reported using an EHR, and high proportions reported using many advanced EHR functionalities. There were no indications of disparities in EHR adoption by census region, urban/rural location, patient sociodemographic composition, physician staffing, or health center funding; however, there were small variations in adoption by total patient cost and percent of revenue from grants. Findings revealed no evidence of a digital divide among health centers, indicating that health centers are implementing EHRs, in keeping with their mission to reduce health disparities.

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