The latest news releases by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that the implementation of EHRS by hospitals and physician practices continues to trend up and as a result job growth in health IT is following the trend.    The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are driving this growth putting money in the pocket of those practices and health systems that qualify for incentive payments.

A survey by The American Hospital Association survey found that from 2009 to 2011 the number of hospitals that implemented EHRs increased from 16% to 35%.  Other interesting survey stats include:

• 85% of hospitals report they intend to take advantage of EHR incentive  programs by 2015
• EHR Meaningful Use incentive payments can total $44,000.00 for Medicare incentives and $63,750.00 for Medicaid incentives for a qualified heath care provider.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has made $3.12 billion in incentive payments to qualifying health care providers.

There is a nationwide network of 62 Regional Extension Centers in place to provide technical guidance and resources to help eligible health care providers participate in the EHR Incentive Programs and meaningfully use certified EHRs.  Making the change to EHRs can be a confusing and expensive process.  The centers provide information to assist hospitals and physician practices with the selection of certified electronic health record software and with the incentive payment process.

It seems only logical that with the accelerated shift to EHRs that there is an increased demand for health IT professionals to design, implement and maintain EHR software.  The Board of Labor Statistics released stats that show that health IT job growth will significantly increase over the next 6 years.  As mentioned in previous posts, the current administration has launched several health IT work force programs with the goal to provide educational opportunities for those interested in a career in health IT and ultimately fill the new jobs that are being created in healthcare IT. “As of January 2012, over 9,000 community college students have been trained for health IT careers and another 8,706 students have enrolled.  And as of February 2012, participating universities have enrolled over 1,200 students and graduated nearly 600 post-graduate and masters-level health IT professionals, with over 1,700 expected to graduate by the summer of 2013”. After completing health IT training, graduates can take the HIT Pro Competency Exam to demonstrate competency to potential employers.

Read the HHS.gov news release to find the latest electronic health records jobs updated in real time. Best of luck in your health IT career.

After a review of the latest stats, it appears that more and more physicians are taking advantage of the Meaningful Use incentives and making the switch to EHRs. A recent post on Information.com does a nice job providing updated stats surrounding EHR implementation including the cost per physician for the change to EHRs.

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