Practice Fusion, the free, web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) platform, today released its third annual State of the Small Practice report based on a survey of more than 1,000 medical professionals. The survey revealed that 62 percent of small practice medical professionals found new technologies like EMR made things easier in their practices. However, these doctors also reported feeling more confusion around the Meaningful Use government incentives for EMR adoption than in years prior, possibly due to recently-released requirements for Stage Two.

Despite confusion, Meaningful Use incentives were reported by the small practice medical professionals surveyed as the strongest motivation for adopting EMR technology, followed by a desire to use technology to improve patient care. 45 percent of doctors reported that their practice was doing better this year than last, possibly reflecting an improving economy and the influence of EMR incentives. While the majority of remaining doctors reported no change, 15.8 percent reported that their practice is doing worse—a 1.8 percent increase from 2012.

Key Findings:

• Doctors reported more confusion about Meaningful Use this year, with 46.4 percent of doctors claiming "moderate expertise" in 2013 (a 16.3 percent drop from 2012) and 49.9 percent (a 6.5 percent increase from last year) claiming "little" or "no" understanding.
• New technology such as EMR systems continued to make medical practice easier for 62.9 percent of doctors, a steady increase from 2012 (61.4 percent) and 2011 (59 percent).
• The number of doctors reporting their practice is doing better this year remained at 45.1 percent, unchanged from last year's study, with 15.8 percent reporting that their practice is doing worse (a 1.8 percent increase from 2012).
• Meeting Meaningful Use deadlines was the main motivation for EMR adoption (54.9 percent), followed by improving care through new technologies (45.3 percent) and excitement around adopting a new technology (39.1 percent).
• Most computers used today in doctors' offices are 1-2 years old (41 percent), but some practices continue to hold on to older machines—4.4 percent of doctors' computers are 6 years or older, compared to 3.4 percent in 2012.
• Among doctors' chief complaints, insurance and reimbursement were ranked highest, followed by practice management costs and administrative burdens.

"Small medical practices are critical as the first line of care," said Ryan Howard , CEO of Practice Fusion. "As these practices struggle for survival in a turbulent time, we see it as Practice Fusion's duty to do everything we can to empower them to adopt and utilize new, lifesaving technologies. With an estimated $100 million paid to our doctors so far, it's clear we're on the right track."

The 2013 and 2012 State of the Small Practice studies were conducted by Practice Fusion via an internet survey with a national sample of more than 1,000 practices gathered through the company's platform. Medical providers were asked to provide responses to a series of multiple choice survey questions based on the previous year's data. The 2011 study was conducted on the MDLinx platform using a national sample of 100 small practice physicians using a series of open-ended questions. Highlights of the results of the 2011 and 2012 State of the Small Practicesurveys are available on Practice Fusion's website here and here.