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Physician adoption of any type of electronic health records systems increased substantially during the past year, according to preliminary results of the annual National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Fifty-seven percent of responding physician had some type of EHR in 2011 and that number rose to 71.8 percent in 2012, a 26% increase. Between 2010 and 2011, the adoption rate increased by almost 12 percent. The percentage of physicians using a “basic” EHR that met criteria for a minimal level of functions rose from 33.9 percent last year to 39.6 percent in 2012, a boost of about 17 percent.

Sixty-six percent of respondent physicians in 2012 intend to participate in the EHR meaningful use program, with 41 percent having registered for the program and another 25 percent intending to. One quarter of these physicians intending to participate believe they have the capabilities to meet the 13 out of 15 Stage 1 core objectives that need EHR data.