More than two-thirds — 68% — of substance use and mental health treatment facilities reported using only an EHR with no paper charts, while 25% used a mix of digital and paper records, according to an April report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
Here are four things to know:
- Federal government facilities reported the highest rates of EHR adoption at 97%, compared to 73% for local governments, 68% for private organizations and 38% for state-run facilities.
- Forty-eight percent of EHR-only facilities electronically integrate outside information, and 44% allow patients to view records online, compared to 36% and 33%, respectively, among facilities using both EHRs and paper charts.
- Among EHR-only facilities, 87% review alerts or warnings, 84% reconcile medications and 78% view lab results, compared to 72%, 69% and 61%, respectively, among facilities using both EHRs and paper charts.
- Nineteen percent of facilities reported participating in a health information exchange, while 67% said they were unfamiliar with health information exchange in their area.
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