Medical practices that have implemented electronic health record systems report stronger financial performance than those using paper-based systems, according to a report released Monday by the Medical Group Management Association, Health Data Management reports.
Report Details
The report -- titled "Electronic Health Records Impacts on Revenue, Costs and Staffing: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data" -- used data from a survey of 1,324 primary care and specialty practice members of MGMA (Goedert, Health Data Management, 10/25).
MGMA said the report relies on voluntary participation and might not be representative of the entire medical practice industry (CMIO, 10/26).
Key Findings
The study found that:
- Independent physician practices with EHR systems had a median of $49,916 greater total revenue after operating costs per full-time physician in 2009 than physician practices using paper-based systems;
- Hospital- or delivery system-owned multispecialty practices with EHR systems had a 2009 median operating margin that was $42,042 higher than such practices that lacked EHRs (Health Data Management, 10/25); and
- After five years of using EHRs, independent physician practices reported a median operating margin that was 10.1% higher than physician practices in their first year of EHR use (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 10/25).
According to the report, independent physician practices face the highest health IT costs during the first year after EHR implementation, but medical record and transcription costs decrease over the following years (
Health Data Management, 10/25).