Survey Gives Insight on How Docs View HIT

A survey of more than 300 practicing physicians finds a small majority believe health information technology can improve safety, patient care and advance evidence-based medicine.

Market research firm Ipsos conducted the 2013 Physician Outlook survey for medical information content vendor Wolters Kluwer Health. Fifty-five percent of respondents see progress in HIT ensuring patient safety and improving the quality of care, while 51 percent think EHRs can help increase evidence-based care.

But a healthy majority of respondents don’t see EHRs as being easy to use (56 percent), improving patient relationships (61 percent), saving time (66 percent) and managing health costs (73 percent).

Nor are HIT systems helping reduce the cost of care, surveyed physicians say. Sixty-eight percent of responded note their costs of procedures are going up in their practices, with top contributors being HIT adoption, health care reform and other legislation, and uninsured patients.

Survey results, which also cover business practice challenges, physician attrition, reform law issues, mobile computing usage, physician information sources, and 3-to-5-year focus areas, are available here.