Why Healthcare Providers Aren't Happy With EHR Systems

The U.S. government is giving the healthcare industry billions of dollars in incentives to use electronic health records. Most organizations have EHR software in place, but as many as 35 percent wish they could switch systems. Are EHR vendors to blame, or are deeper forces at work?

The federal government is happy to point out that more than 50 percent of physicians and 80 percent of hospitals are using electronic health record (EHR) systems, with those users having received some $14.6 billion in meaningful use incentives initially allocated in the 2009 stimulus.

But there's more to meaningful use than EHR adoption numbers. A number of studies suggest that healthcare providers are increasingly dissatisfied with the EHR systems they have, with nearly 40 percent saying they wouldn't recommend their EHR to a colleague and more than 30 percent saying they are buying a new EHR system to replace existing software.