“According to a recent study published by Health Affairs, hospitals in which racial and ethnic disparities exist are less likely than other hospitals to have adopted electronic health records (EHRs). Researchers surveyed 2,368 hospitals about their use of electronic systems for 24 functions. The hospitals that served the most Medicaid, African American and Hispanic patients had lower rates of EHR adoption compared to hospitals that served less of these patients.
Due to less financial viability, hospitals caring for the underserved may be trailing behind the health IT movement. In this study, hospitals providing care to the greatest number of poor patients were 22% more likely to cite lack of capital as a major barrier to adopting EHR systems compared to hospitals caring for patients with more financial resources.”
Article
Nicolel, EHR Scope Blog, 23 November 2009
Abstract (Jha 2009)
