Currents in Contemporary Bioethics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2021
Encouraged by the financial incentives in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), electronic health record (EHR) adoption is on the rise. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in 2014, 78% of office-based physicians had adopted some type of EHR system, up from 18% in 2001. Implementation of EHRs able to support the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “meaningful use” requirements has also significantly increased since 2010. Such a growth in EHR adoption with the capacity to achieve “meaningful use” standards suggests that the goal of nationwide, interoperable health records is moving closer to a reality.
While movement toward a system-wide, interoperable EHR promises benefits of such an electronic information management tool, the risks related to patients’ privacy of their health information remains a concern.