Physicians Cite Major Discontent With Adoption And Use Of Electronic Health Record Systems, Despite Government's $27 Billion Incentive Program

CLEVELAND, Feb. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The $27 billion government experiment to incentivize physicians to convert to electronic health records (EHRs) has not been worth it, according to nearly 70% of physicians surveyed.

In fact, a national survey of nearly 1,000 physicians, set for release on February 10, 2014, shows widespread dissatisfaction related to the functionality and cost of these patient record systems. About 45% of physicians believe patient care is actually worse as a result of adopting EHR technology, two-thirds would not purchase their current EHR system again, and 43% of physicians say these systems have resulted in significant financial losses. In addition, the current state of technology has not improved the coordination of care with hospitals, physicians say.

The survey, conducted for Medical Economics from November to December 2013 by The MPI Group, a third-party research firm, netted 967 respondents with an approximate +/-3.2% margin of error.

The survey results corroborate national reports from the RAND Corp. in 2013 chiding the healthcare information technology market for creating systems that interfere with patient-doctor communication, are cumbersome to use, time-consuming for physicians to enter data, and don't communicate well with hospital systems or other physicians. All of these factors are contributing to professional dissatisfaction.

Results from the Medical Economics survey include:

• 67% say that system functionality influences their decisions to purchase or switch systems.
• 48% say that cost is influencing their decisions to purchase or switch systems.
• Nearly half of physicians say that implementation of EHR systems has made the quality of patient care worse.
• 69% of respondents say that coordination of care with hospitals has not improved.
• 45% say they have spent more than $100,000 on an EHR
• 77% of the largest practices (more than 10 physicians) spent more than $200,000 on an EHR.
• 38% doubt their systems will still be viable in 5 years.

Georgiann DeCenzo, executive vice president of Advanstar Medical Communications Group, a healthcare media division that includes Medical Economics, says, "These results showcase a major disconnect between the goals of the government's EHR incentive program for providers, and the implementation of these systems. Physicians are giving the healthcare information technology sector valuable insight on their customers' preferences, and vendors should factor this into their future development plans."

The full report will be published in the February 10, 2014 print, digital, and mobile editions of Medical Economics. To access the data on Feb. 10, go to http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/EHRsurvey. For an advance copy of select data tables before Feb. 10, e-mail [email protected].

The Advanstar Medical Communications Group offers an integrated platform of multi-channel, high-engagement tactics that reaches over 1.6 million healthcare professionals. The company's print and digital brands target 10 healthcare markets spanning North America, Europe and Latin America and are accessible through the ModernMedicine Network at www.modernmedicine.com. Some of the titles include: Contemporary OB/GYN, Dermatology Times, Drug Topics, Managed Health Care Executive, Ophthalmology Times, Contemporary Pediatrics, and Urology Times.

Advanstar Communications is an event and marketing services business that serves business professionals and consumers in the Fashion, Licensing, Life Sciences and Powersports industries with its portfolio of 134 events, 30 publications, and more than 200 electronic products and websites.

The MPI Group offers thought leadership and research that help create insight, understanding, affinity, and market awareness. Based in Shaker Heights, OH, MPI also maintains one of the world's largest databases of detailed financial, operational, and strategic performance metrics collected from thousands of facilities and firms around the globe. For more information, go to mpi-group.com.

For media inquiries related to these survey results, contact Daniel R. Verdon, group content director, Medical Economics at 440-891-2614; [email protected].

SOURCE Medical Economics