Hospitals take their time in EMR implementation

The use of electronic records in healthcare lags far behind the computerization of information in other sectors of the economy, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The document released March 15 found that fewer than a third of the nation's hospital emergency and outpatient departments used electronic medical records during the period measured from 2001 to 2003.

The data revealed that fewer than one physician in 12 uses computerized provider order entry systems, although physicians under 50 years of age were twice as likely as older colleagues to embrace CPOE.

The CDC survey data were obtained from provider induction interviews from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the ambulatory care component of the National Health Care Survey.