Use of Health Information Technology by Rhode Island Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers, 2019.

Background: The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) has administered the Health Information Technology (HIT) Survey since 2009 to report clinician-level process measures relating to HIT adoption and use.

Methods: RIDOH administers the Rhode Island HIT Survey to all licensed independent practitioners. Descriptive analyses examined HIT adoption and the clinician experience working with HIT.

Results: Most physician and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) respondents report using an EHR (92.5% and 94.3%) and e-prescribing medications (84.1% and 81.6%). Less than half of physicians (40.9% or n=565) and APPs (35.4% or n=195) who prescribe controlled substances currently submit controlled substance prescriptions electronically. A higher percentage of physicians, compared to APPs, reported experiencing HIT-related stress (80.9% and 66.6%). The overall prevalence of physicians reporting symptoms of burnout was 29.7% (n=539) but varied between specialties.

Discussion: As of 2019, the majority of Rhode Island physicians have adopted EHRs and e-prescribing. Adoption plateaued after 2012, and challenges persist in integrating existing technology into practice.