Eight-Country Survey Finds Doctors Agree on Top Healthcare IT Benefits

Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, has released findings of a survey of more than 3,700 doctors across eight countries. The study found that healthcare IT is improving health practices and that there is common agreement on the top benefits of technology. However, some physicians, especially those over 50 or those who are not actively using such healthcare IT systems as electronic medical records (EMR) and health information exchanges (HIE), do not yet see all the benefits.

The physician quantitative research, which is part of the soon-to-be-published Accenture Connected Health Study, surveyed 200 doctors in Singapore and 500 doctors per country in Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Spain and the United States between August and September 2011.

The majority of doctors in all of the countries surveyed believe that healthcare IT does provide some common top benefits, including better access to quality data for clinical research, improved coordination of care and a reduction in medical errors. But, some doctors do not yet see all the benefits of healthcare IT, with high percentages reporting either a "negative impact," "no impact" or "didn't know" for reducing unneeded procedures, improving access to services, and improving patient outcomes. Moreover, physicians who are routine users of healthcare IT rated the overall benefits more positively than their counterparts who are less actively involved with these technologies.

The survey also revealed that doctors across the eight countries have similar perceptions about the top benefits of healthcare IT. Among doctors in Singapore, access to quality data for clinical research was ranked most frequently as the top benefit of healthcare IT, followed by reduced numbers of unnecessary interventions/procedures and improved diagnostic decisions. They also perceive a more positive impact compared to their western counterparts.

Another significant finding was the contrast in attitudes among doctors over and under 50 years of age. Doctors under 50 are more likely to believe that healthcare IT has a positive impact across a wide range of perceived benefits. The majority of them think EMR and HIE will improve care coordination across settings and service boundaries and they believe these technologies will offer better access to quality data for clinical research. A lower percentage of doctors over 50 perceive the same benefits.

The study also asked physicians about the extent to which they used 12 different "functions" of EMR and HIE, such as electronic entry of patient notes, electronic referrals, electronic ordering, electronic prescribing and communicating with other physicians or patients via secure email. The results showed that physicians who are routine users of a wider range of healthcare IT functions have a more positive attitude toward the benefits these technologies bring.

Source: eGov Innovation