CDC's National Center for Health Statistics is issuing a new Health E-Stat today entitled "Electronic Medical Record use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2005."

The E-Stat is the latest look at the growing trend towards electronic record-keeping in the medical community. Some of the key findings in the report include:

Nearly one in four (23.9 percent) of physicians reported using full or partial electronic medical records (EMRs) in their office-based practice in 2005 - a 31 percent increase from the 18.2 percent reported in 2001.

Physicians in the Midwest (26.9 percent) and West (33.4 percent) were more likely to use EMRs than those in the Northeast (14.4 percent).

Physicians in metropolitan statistical areas (nearly 24.8 percent) were more likely to use EMRs than were those in non-metropolitan areas (16.9).

Only one in ten (9.3 percent) physicians, however, used EMRs with all four of the basic functions (computerized orders for prescriptions, computerized orders for tests, reporting of test results, and physician notes) considered necessary for a complete EMR system.

The entire E-Stat can be accessed at the CDC/NCHS web site at www.cdc.gov/nchs.