The Critical Shift in ASC EHR Adoption: Overcoming Barriers

Extraordinary advances in technology have opened up previously unthinkable possibilities for the healthcare industry and improvements in patient care. Electronic health records (EHRs) are one of many health IT advancements in recent years, and they prove to have a significant impact on both providers and patients alike. While an EHR optimizes workflow efficiencies for providers, it also enables a more comprehensive view of a patient’s health. By pulling together data points and health information from disparate points of care, there is now a better foundation of knowledge for a provider to use in making both small and large decisions about a patient’s care. The EHR is the best way to support the immediate and long-term trajectory of a patient’s health by allowing for more efficient information gathering and information analysis along the continuum of care, including preventive care, through medical incidents, rehabilitation and maintenance. 

But EHR adoption remains stubbornly slower at surgery centers and clinics compared to large hospital systems. Overcoming barriers to adoption should be a key priority for ASC administrators and physicians moving forward.   

With the ongoing evolution of the healthcare landscape, the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry is significantly expanding, becoming an even more important player in the delivery of healthcare. While the growth of ASC’s can be somewhat attributed to updated regulations that have allowed for more surgical procedures to be performed safely in an ASC setting, the patient experience and understanding of how ASCs operate, has also helped ASCs gain traction in recent years. With this growth comes the need to ensure ASCs adopt new tools to keep up with the pace of expansion, and that includes an increased adoption of EHRs. 

Since 2008, office-based physician adoption of EHRs has more than doubled from 42 percent to 86 percent. However, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), the adoption rate in ASC facilities remains low, with estimated adoption at 20 percent. While the lag in adoption isn’t a perfect science, higher adoption rates in other care settings can be attributed to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. This federal legislation authorized billions of dollars in financial incentives for doctors and hospitals to fund EHR implementation and incurred a reimbursement penalty for those providers not using a certified EHR.