The cost to purchase and implement an electronic health record (EHR) system prevents some osteopathic physicians from using them in their practices, according to joint research released by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Center for Research. The study report, Assessing Electronic Health Record Use by Members of the American Osteopathic Association, states that larger medical groups (51 or more full-time physicians) reported adopting EHRs at a rate of 55.1 percent; solo physician practices, however, reported only a 25 percent adoption rate.
Study participants rated lack of capital resources as a primary barrier to implementing EHR in their practices. Researchers found that the median EHR purchase and implementation cost was $20,000 per physician, with an additional $250 per month per physician for maintenance.
Of those that had moved to an EHR, nearly 90 percent said they would not go back to paper medical records. Among AOA members, “improved access to medical record information” ranked highest as a potential benefit to their medical practices. Other high-ranking benefits with more direct impact on practice financials were “improved accuracy for coding evaluation and management procedures” and “improved charge capture.”
