Health IT Research & Analysis
Quick Stats

Office-based Physician Electronic Health Record Adoption

Last Updated

June 2026

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As of 2024, 95% of U.S. office-based physicians adopted “Any EHR” and over 9 in 10 (91%) had adopted a “Certified EHR” – double the rate from 2008. 

Percent of Office-based Physicians that Adopted an EHR, 2004-2024

ONC has tracked EHR adoption via multiple measures over time, as ‘EHR’ definitions have evolved and ONC implemented the Health IT Certification Program.

Any EHR

Early data collection and measurement from 2008-2012 tracked whether physicians used “Any EHR” (i.e., a record system that is either all or partially electronic and excludes systems solely for billing electronic systems) to maintain patient medical records, indicating the extent to which physicians were able to document some patient care or issue orders electronically, at least sometimes. In 2008, 42% of physicians reported they were using an electronic system to fully or partially track patient records. 

Basic EHR

Additional measurement also tracked the adoption and use of computerized systems capable of documenting patient information, make orders, and view diagnostic results. The “Basic EHR” definition published in 2008 by DesRoches, et al. (https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMsa0802005) identified key capabilities that represented core clinical and administrative tasks an electronic system should be able to do to be considered an “EHR”. In 2008, about 17% of physicians used technology that met the “Basic EHR” definition, less than half of those who reported use of a fully or partially electronic system (“Any EHR”). 

Certified EHR

Finally, ONC also formally measured the number of physicians that adopted an EHR certified by the Health IT Certification Program. Beginning in 2014, the first year the data was tracked for physicians, 3 in 4 physicians reported use of a “Certified EHR” – nearly double the rate who used “Any EHR” in 2008. By 2024, over 90% of physicians reported use of a “Certified EHR”, while an additional 4% reported use of any other EHR. 

The different measures, taken together, show a broad and detailed picture of the rapid digitization of US physician offices, where a great majority of patient care is now electronically documented, information can be shared electronically, and key diagnostic tests and results can be viewed at the point of care. 

The chart and table reflect different measures of EHR adoption over time – “Any”, “Basic”, and “Certified”. The trends reflect distinct ways EHR adoption was measured for the given year, using the methodologies described below. 

How do we define and measure an “EHR”? 

The term “EHR” has changed in meaning over the years. In plain language, ONC defines an EHR as “a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. It contains health information collected and maintained by healthcare providers over time. It’s a comprehensive, longitudinal record of a patient’s health history, including diagnoses, lab results, medications, physician notes, and more, accessible to authorized healthcare professionals (https://healthit.gov/health-it-basics/benefits-ehrs/).” 

But when we seek to track and measure EHR adoption over time, more specific, measurable definitions are used to compare adoption across health care providers. In 2008, DesRoches, et al. (https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMsa0802005) published a methodology to assess the type of technology used by ambulatory providers, identifying key computerized capabilities that, if adopted together, constituted a spectrum of “EHRs”, ranging from “Basic” to “Comprehensive”. Beginning in 2008, the “Basic” EHR definition was used as a proxy to measure the percent of health care providers that used technology for a range of clinical tasks that enabled electronic capture of patient health information and the ability to order and view medications and diagnostics. In 2009, the HITECH Act created the Health IT Certification Program, and in its provisions required that technology certified as part of the Program would need to meet certain requirements as part of the “Qualified” EHR definition. This definition was adopted in Certification Program regulations as the “Base” EHR definition, a very similar set of capabilities as adopted as part of the “Basic” EHR definition in 2008. The qualified or base EHR definition would underpin EHR certification going forward, and so as the Program certified its first modules in late 2010, measurement, too, began to track provider adoption of “Certified” EHRs. So, as this quick stat visualizes, measurement of “EHR adoption” has evolved as statutory definitions, data collection, and technology have evolved. 

 

Definitions:

Any EHR: A medical or health record system that is either all or partially electronic and excludes systems solely for billing. 

Basic EHR: The “Basic EHR” definition was first defined in DesRoches, et al. (200), “Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care — A National Survey of Physicians” (https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMsa0802005). Physicians adopted a Basic EHR if they reported their practice performed all of the following computerized functions: patient demographics, patient problem lists, electronic lists of medications taken by patients, clinician notes, orders for medications, viewing laboratory results, and viewing imaging results.  

Certified EHR: Physicians have adopted a certified electronic health record system if the EHR technology meets the technological capability, functionality, and security requirements adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Office-based physicians: Office-based; principally engaged in patient care activities; non-federally employed; not in specialties of anesthesiology, pathology, or radiology; and younger than 85 years of age at the time of the survey.