April 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 4
Survey takes stock of members' e-Health
BY SHERI PORTER
Chances are good that you know colleagues who have not yet taken the plunge -- or perhaps have waded just ankle-deep -- into the sea of information technology.
The Academy's goal is to have all FPs using the Internet in their offices by 2003 and using EMR systems by 2005. The AAFP's Ad Hoc Committee on Electronic Medical Records knows many FPs fit that description. The committee decided last fall it was time to take action.
Board Chair Bruce Bagley, M.D., of Albany, N.Y., chairs the EMR committee. "The Academy's goal is to have all our family physicians using the Internet in their offices by 2003 and electronic medical records by 2005," said Bagley. "We need to know the current level of usage so we can track our progress toward that goal."
A four-page questionnaire went out to 4,500 AAFP active members in November. After a second mailing, responses from 1,436 members were tabulated. Survey results shed light on members' knowledge and use of technology in three areas: the Internet, e-mail and EMR.
"The survey is unique because it gets into the behavioral issues -- why physicians are not using technology and what influences their decisions," said Susan Rehm, AAFP manager of health information and technology. Survey responses indicated:
- 70 percent of respondents used the Internet in their practices -- primarily to e-mail their colleagues and to access medical and health Web sites;
- 18 percent tapped e-mail for patient communications -- usually to answer patient questions;
- 17 percent favored patient access to personal health records online;
- 16 percent utilized EMR systems, and the reason listed most frequently for using the EMR systems was reduction in errors;
- 33 percent said their practices used hand-written paper charts;
- just 1 percent operated a paperless office; and
- cost, data entry, and concerns about security and confidentiality were most often named as impediments to using an EMR system.
Physician responses to open-ended questions included requests for more technology education from the AAFP, particularly hands-on demonstrations and beginner-level training.
Bagley is optimistic about members' e-Health. "I'm encouraged because the survey shows that 70 percent of our physicians already use the Internet in their practices. If that figure were 25 percent, I'd be really worried.
"Our goal is doable. The groundwork has been laid -- most family physicians already have computers and are learning how to use them -- and that's very heartening," said Bagley.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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