Future Now
The IFTF Blog
EHRs
iHealthBeat reports on a survey of doctors regarding the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR). Thirty-five percent of physicians surveyed by Medical Economics have an EHR system. Of the physicians who don't, 30% said they planned to adopt an EHR system within the year.
Doctors: When did you Adopt an Electronic Health Record System?
The top three reasons physicians cited for acquiring an EHR were better documentation, improved access to records and improved quality of care. The ability to defend a malpractice suit was the least important reason offered. Only 11% of the 548 respondents reported that any of their patients have personal health records.
Forty-six percent of the doctors surveyed have practice websites. The most common features of these sites, in order, are patient education and self-care information, online physician-patient communication, patient pre-registration, and the ability to request appointments and/or refills. The complete survey results are available as a PowerPoint at www.memag.com/ehrrisk.