In August, more than 15,000 jobs were advertised online for healthcare professionals that have experience with electronic medical records in the United States, and the market is growing 31 percent year-over-year, according to market researcher WANTED Analytics.

The HITECH Act provides funding for health providers to convert patient records into electronic files, causing more medical organizations to employ this technology and recruit professionals with knowledge of these systems. The number of job ads increased 31 percent compared to August of 2011 and 88 percent since August 2010, and is currently the most commonly required skill in healthcare job ads, say WANTED analysts.

Among the most commonly advertised job openings for healthcare professionals with EMR or EHR:

• Registered Nurse
• Nurse Practitioner
• Family Practice Physician
• Physician Internal Medicine
• Physician Assistant
• Hospitalist
• Medical Billing Coding
• Nurse II Inpatient Nursing
• Physician
• Family Medicine Physician

The metropolitan areas with the highest volume of listings in August were Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Phoenix and Boston, according to the research. While healthcare employers in Minneapolis placed the highest number of job ads for this talent pool, one of the highest year-over-year growth areas was seen in New York, where demand grew more than 245 percent in August 2012 compared to August 2011. The second highest growth was seen in Phoenix, up 127 percent compared to last year.

The hiring demand is likely to continue as more employers shift their medical records to electronic systems. Currently, the limited talent supply of potential candidates with EMR or EHR experience will create challenges for employers, officials say.

WANTED Analytics finds that employers across the United States spend an average of six weeks advertising jobs and sourcing candidates for positions that require electronic skills. Each location will, however, experience a varying degree of difficulty when sourcing. Companies in Fairbanks, Alaska are currently experiencing some of the most challenging overall recruiting conditions, as more employers are looking to fill jobs in these areas than the local talent supply can support. Job ads in this area remain online for an average of 7.5 weeks.

By contrast, the locations experiencing the least difficulties recruiting this talent are Rochester, N.Y. and Chicago, the research shows. Larger talent supply in these metro areas, means that recruiters are likely to fill open healthcare positions that require EMR or EHR skills faster than average.