Nearly all (96%) of U.S. hospitals use electronic health records, and 85% share clinical data with other hospitals, AHA data shows.
Data released this week shows nearly all of the nation's hospitals have adopted certified electronic health record systems (EHRs).
The new figures represent a nine-fold increase since 2008, according to survey data from the American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement.
The data also shows that there have been increases in sharing health data among hospitals, with more than 85% of hospitals sending key clinical information electronically.
How Providers are Achieving EHR Usability
The report comes at the start of the annual meeting of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, ONC data briefs show the adoption rate of certified EHRs has increased from almost 72% in 2011 (when this information began to be collected) to 96% in 2015.
While the overall rate for the use of certified EHR has held stable, the data shows that adoption rates for small, rural, and critical access hospitals has increased.
The AHA data also shows that the percentage of hospitals sending, receiving, and finding key clinical information grew between 2014 and 2015.
In 2015, about half of hospitals had health information electronically available from providers outside their systems, a 5% increase from 2014. About half of hospitals report they often or sometimes use patient information they receive electronically from providers outside their systems.
The two data briefs, Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems among U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2008 – 2015, and Interoperability among U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals in 2015, can be viewed at HealthIT.gov.