SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Three in five Americans say they receive the best medical care from their primary care physician (PCP), according to a survey conducted by GfK Roper for Practice Fusion, the free, web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) company. The survey shows a strong preference for primary care above specialists, hospitals and urgent care facilities, and also indicated a desire for increased communication between doctors and more appointment availability.

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"Primary care providers are the medical backbone of our communities," said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion.  "These doctors provide the personalized care and preventative medicine that improves patient health and drives down costs. Unless they are supported by innovative health technology and fair policies on reimbursements, however, many communities may be left without one."

Key findings:

• 62 percent of respondents say they receive better care at their primary care physician followed by specialists (16 percent), hospitals (13 percent) and urgent care (3 percent)
• 38 percent of respondents say increased communication between doctors would improve their medical experience followed by more appointment availability (31 percent) and ease of access to medical records (15 percent)
• Respondents with a household income of over $30K are nearly twice as likely to visit the doctor for preventative care than those making less than $20K
• Women of all ages are more likely to visit the doctor for preventative care (64 percent) compared to men (58 percent)
• Click here to view and share the Primary Care infographic

Primary care doctors deliver an estimated 80 percent of patient care in the U.S. However, these practices are increasingly facing financial hardship, burdensome debt and even bankruptcy.  Increases in the cost of operating a medical practice, up 52.6 percent since 2001, have compounded recent drops in reimbursement rates. PCPs act as the primary resource for basic medical services and preventative care, but there are currently not enough of them in the U.S. to meet a growing population and an increasing number of patients with chronic conditions.

More than 55,000 small and medium sized primary care practices use Practice Fusion's free EMR, and the company is a leading partner in the government push to help practices digitalize medical records to bring down costs and improve the delivery of care.

Raw results from the patient survey are available upon request. Practice Fusion can also offer physician and patient sources who share patient records online to discuss the benefits of real-time, information-driven healthcare.

Survey methodology

The Practice Fusion medical care study was conducted via omnibus survey on April 13-15, 2012. The GfK Omnibus survey is a weekly national phone survey of US households. Interviews were conducted from among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults age 18 or older.

About Practice Fusion

Practice Fusion provides a free, web-based EHR system to physicians. With medical charting, scheduling, e-prescribing (eRx), lab integrations, referral letters, Meaningful Use certification, unlimited support and a Personal Health Record for patients, Practice Fusion's EHR addresses the complex needs of today's healthcare providers and disrupts the health IT status quo. Practice Fusion is the fastest growing Electronic Medical Records community in the country with more than 150,000 users serving 35 million patients. The company closed a $23 million Series B round of financing led by Founders Fund in 2011. For more information about Practice Fusion, please visit http://www.practicefusion.com/.

SOURCE Practice Fusion