Seven percent of global EHR users describe their regional health IT system as having meaningful connectivity with other providers, according to a Feb. 12 report released by Black Book Research.
For the survey, the health IT research firm polled 7,459 physicians, health administrators, technology managers and clinical leaders in ambulatory and inpatient settings across 23 countries about their attitudes toward EHRs.
Ninety percent of international respondents from outside of the U.S. indicated confusion surrounding the definition of a highly interoperable EHR systems. When asked their preferred strategy for linking disparate health IT systems, 72 percent of respondents cited capabilities such as application programming interfaces, clinical portals and web services.
"The global healthcare sector is undergoing a wave of transformation, with digitization being the core focus area of service providers," said Douglas Brown, president and founder of Black Book Market Research and founder of Black Book Rankings. "Supportive regulations and indications of favorable government incentives to implement EHR systems would be a major boosting factor for healthcare facilities in emerging economies."