Providers' acceptance factors and their perceived barriers to electronic health record adoption

With the 2014 governmental deadline for nationwide implementation of the electronic health records (EHR) approaching, healthcare systems need to ensure successful EHR adoption among their healthcare providers. Recent reports indicate that only 55% of physician providers nationwide have adopted the EHR. Many providers remain hesitant to adopt the EHR and identifying perceived facilitators and barriers to implementation could prove useful in determining appropriate support for provider implementation. This descriptive correlational survey study explored acceptance factors and barriers associated with providers' intention to adopt EHR, the correlation between associated factors and providers' intent to adopt, and characteristic differences by provider group types (physicians and non-physician providers [nurse practitioners and physician assistants]). Physicians (n=24) and non-physician providers (n=20) employed in an acute care setting at a community healthcare system participated in the study. Factors affecting intention to adopt were: management support, provider involvement, adequate training, provider autonomy, provider-patient relationship, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. Providers perceived management support, provider involvement, and adequate training as facilitators. Perceived usefulness and provider autonomy were barriers to EHR adoption in this study (p<.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the two provider group types regarding the associated factors and their intention to adopt EHR. However, even though non-physician providers found EHR marginally easier to use, they were less inclined to accept EHR in clinical practice compared to physicians. Gender was not a predictor of EHR adoption in either of the two provider groups. Increasing age was negatively correlated to EHR adoption for physicians only (r=-.476, p<.05). It is essential to address acceptance factors and barriers perceived by providers of all spectrums, as well as consider their characteristics during pre-implementation process to achieve successful launch of EHR.