Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record Use by Office- based Physicians: United States, 2008 and Preliminary 2009

Policymakers’ interest in the progress of health information technology adoption by health care providers has increased since 2004 when the federal government set the goal for most Americans to have electronic health records by 2014 (1). The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may accelerate the pace of electronic medical record/electronic health record (EMR/EHR) adoption by providers, because it includes funding to promote adoption and use of electronic systems (2).