Health information technology usage has more than doubled since 2012, the Obama administration touted this week.
Especially when teasing out physicians and other providers, the adoption rate gives that hockey stick line graph that so many people like to see. HHS has met and exceeded its goal for 50 percent of doctor offices and 80 percent of eligible hospitals to have EHRs by the end of 2013, says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Entering the digital age is one area in which many health care experts say the system can find cost savings. A RAND Corporation project predicted in 2005 that a rapid adoption of health information technology could save the United States some $81 billion annually.
Still, it’s not all roses. Research published in Health Affairs, an academic journal, showed that health care expenditures increased by $800 billion in this country. The authors of that research partly blame the “sluggish adoption of health IT systems” and say more savings could be realized if more health care providers adopted electronic record keeping.
The study showed that states had very disparate adoption rates. North Carolina had an adoption rate of between 55 percent and 65 percent, which is below the national average.
