Oregon is among the top states for physician adoption of electronic health records according to a recent survey by The Doctors Company and a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oregon came in first in The Doctors Company survey, with 41 percent of physicians saying they have implemented an EHR that meets federal meaningful use criteria; the national average was 30 percent.

The CDC’s mail survey of office-based physicians ranked Oregon at No. 6. It found state rates of adoption of any EHR system ranging from 40 percent (Louisiana) to 84 percent (North Dakota). Oregon, at 74.7 percent, ranked sixth, behind North Dakota, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Washington.

The CDC survey found a national average EHR adoption rate of 57 percent. It also found that between 2010 and 2011, the percentage of physicians reporting having a basic system increased by 36 percent.

Also, 44 percent of Oregon physicians told CDC surveyors they intended to participate in the EHR incentive payment program, compared with a national average of 52 percent.

Among physicians planning to apply for EHR incentive payments, the percentage with systems that would allow them to meet eight Stage 1 Core Set meaningful use objectives exceeded the national average (43 percent) in eight states (Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin). The percent in Oregon was 65.5 percent.

The Doctors Company, a medical malpractice insurer, surveyed 5,105 doctors nationwide.