Changes to the electronic health records market in light of health information technology certification and meaningful use.
BACKGROUND
Health information technology (HIT) certification and meaningful use are interventions encouraging the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) in the USA. However, these initiatives also constitute a significant intervention which will change the structure of the EHR market.


OBJECTIVE
To describe quantitatively recent changes to both the demand and supply sides of the EHR market.


METHODS
A cohort of 3447 of hospitals from the HIMSS Analytics Database (2006-10) was created. Using hospital referral regions to define the local market, we determined the percentage of hospitals using paper records, the number of vendors, and local EHR vendor competition using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. Changes over time were assessed using a series of regression equations and geographic information systems analyses.


RESULTS
Overall, there was movement away from paper records, upward trends in the number of EHR vendors, and greater competition. However, changes differed according to hospital size and region of the country. Changes were greatest for small hospitals, whereas competition and the number of vendors did not change dramatically for large hospitals.


CONCLUSIONS
The EHR market is changing most dramatically for those least equipped to handle broad technological transformation, which underscores the need for continued targeted support. Furthermore, wide variations across the nation indicate a continued role for states in the support of EHR utilization.


CONCLUSIONS
The structure of the EHR market is undergoing substantial changes as desired by the proponents and architects of HIT certification and meaningful use. However, these transformations are not uniform for all hospitals or all the country.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, GA, USA. jov2025@med.cornell.edu
Joshua R
JR
Vest
Jangho
J
Yoon
Brian H
BH
Bossak
D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D004465:Economic Competition / Q000639:trends*; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000191:economics*; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D019981:Health Care Sector / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006276:Health Facility Size; D006801:Humans; D062527:Meaningful Use / Q000191:economics*; D017059:Models, Econometric; D011682:Purchasing, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018581:Technology Transfer; D014481:United States