Survey: One in Three Patients Report Discovery of Serious Medical Issue from Routine Checkup

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One in three people know someone who discovered a serious medical condition from a routine medical check-up or discovered one themselves, according to a survey conducted by GfK Roper for Patient Fusion, the best place to find and book appointments with doctors nationwide.

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Patients surveyed were consistent about going in for regular checkups, with 88 percent of patients having had a checkup in the past two years. However, a significant gap was revealed between the percentage of women (92 percent) and the percentage of men (82 percent) who have visited their doctor in that time frame.

While one in four patients have used the internet to find a new doctor, those under age 50 (36 percent) are much more likely than those over age 50 (11 percent) to search for a new doctor online. A majority of patients find new doctors through referrals from doctors they already see (72 percent), acquaintances (57 percent) or their insurance company (49 percent). When asked to rate the difficulty of different methods for finding new doctors, referrals from existing doctors was ranked as "easy" by most patients (70 percent), followed by using the internet (58 percent).

More key findings:

• Patients earning $50,000 or more a year are over 40 percent more likely to use an online search to find a doctor than those in lower income brackets.
• When asked about different ways to find new doctors, referrals from existing doctors was found to be "easy" by the most patients (70 percent), followed by using the internet (58 percent).
• While more people use their insurance company to find a doctor than the internet, 16 percent more of those going online found it to be an easy task.

"Getting a regular checkup with your doctor can save your life, but patients are still using outdated methods for finding the best care," said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. "New online tools empower patients with information about doctors, patient reviews and even details about how the doctor uses technology in their medical practice.  This information will simplify the process of choosing a doctor and help more people access preventative care."

The survey of 1,004 US residents 18 and over was conducted by GfK Roper Omnitel Service June 21 through June 23, 2013 via random digit dialing. The results were weighted by age, sex, education, race and geographic region.  The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample, with a confidence interval of 95 percent.

Raw data is available to journalists upon request. For more information, or to be connected with a patient source ready to talk about their experiences with technology, please contact Margaret Farrell at [email protected].

About Patient Fusion
Patient Fusion is the best place to find and book an appointment with a doctor and instantly access your health records with more than 27,000 verified providers in the US. Patient Fusion addresses the needs of today's patients, empowering them to take control of their personal health and medical spending through revolutionary technology, completely free of charge. Patient Fusion is the next step in the evolution of Practice Fusion's free, web-based electronic health record (EHR) platform, the nation's largest doctor-patient community. For more information about Patient Fusion, please visit www.patientfusion.com

Media Contact
Margaret Farrell
[email protected]
(415) 992-7534

SOURCE Practice Fusion