Electronic health records and the role of the CDI specialist

Spurred by incentives in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, electronic health records (EHR) are now widespread in the healthcare industry. According to a  survey from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.gov), more than 50% of doctor’s offices and 80% of eligible hospitals will have EHRs by the end of 2013.1 As of April 2013, approximately 80% of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals in the U. S. had received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading, or demonstrating meaningful use of an EHR.