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Since passage of the HITECH Act, which included the “Meaningful Use” financial incentive program for providers to adopt electronic health records (EHRs), acceptance of the technology has rapidly grown from 12% in 2009 to 96% in 2021, according to a federal survey.
Results show that the vast majority of these EHR systems have been certified by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology as interoperable. This means that they meet the ONC standards established to ensure compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act, supporting the secure, seamless exchange of actionable data with other certified EHRs across care settings.
Yet, another government study shows this type of data sharing does not occur as often as one might assume, given the widespread adoption of certified EHRs. Just 70% of hospitals in 2023 were “sometimes” or “often” engaged in all four measured domains of sending, receiving, finding and integrating electronic information. Furthermore, only 43% “routinely” engaged in interoperable exchange, and just 42% of clinicians reported they routinely use the data when treating patients.