80% of Office-Based Physicians Could Qualify for Federal EHR Incentives Based on Their Medicare or Medicaid Patient Volume

At least 80% of office-based physicians could qualify for federal incentives for meaningful use of electronic health records based on the numbers of Medicare or Medicaid patients they see. However, eligibility for the incentives is likely to vary by specialty. For example, more than 90% of physicians in family practice or internal medicine are likely to qualify, but fewer than 66% of pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, and psychiatrists may qualify. Eligibility and use will also vary by factors such as size and type of practice; physicians in solo practice are much less likely to use electronic health records than physicians . . .