title: Area-level factors associated with electronic health record adoption and meaningful use in the Regional Extension Center Program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify area-level correlates of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and meaningful use (MU) among primary care providers (PCPs) enrolled in the Regional Extension Center (REC) Program.
  
  
  METHODS
  County-level data on 2013 EHR adoption and MU among REC-enrolled PCPs were obtained from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and linked with other county-level data sources including the Area Resource File, American Community Survey, and Federal Communications Commission's broadband availability database. Hierarchical models with random intercepts for RECs were employed to assess associations between a broad set of area-level factors and county-level rates of EHR adoption and MU.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 2715 counties examined, the average county-level EHR adoption and MU rates for REC-enrolled PCPs were 87.5% and 54.2%, respectively. Community health center presence and Medicaid enrollment concentration were positively associated with EHR adoption, while metropolitan status and Medicare Advantage enrollment concentration were positively associated with MU. Health professional shortage area status and minority concentration were negatively associated with EHR adoption and MU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased financial incentives in areas with greater concentrations of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees may be encouraging EHR adoption and MU among REC-enrolled PCPs. Disparities in EHR adoption and MU in some low-resource and underserved areas remain a concern.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Federal efforts to spur EHR adoption and MU have demonstrated some early success; however, some geographic variations in EHR diffusion indicate that greater attention needs to be paid to ensuring equitable uptake and use of EHRs throughout the US.
authors.forename: Cleo A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Samuel
mesh_terms: D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D062527:Meaningful Use / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008484:Medicaid; D006278:Medicare; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: HITECH act; diffusion of innovations; disparities; electronic health records; geographic variations