A new survey reveals that nearly 70 percent of physicians in the U.S. do not think their investment into an electronic health record (EHR) has been worth it.
For the survey, the Shaker Heights, Ohio-based consulting company, the MPI Group asked nearly 1,000 physicians how they feel about their EHR system. Many were dissatisfied, with approximately 45 percent saying patient care is actually worse off with EHR technology. Contrarily, 35 percent said it was improved and 20 percent said there was no change. Two-thirds would not buy the same EHR system again, and 43 percent say the systems have resulted in significant losses.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Medical Ecomonics, which provides business resources for office-based physicians.
Sixty-seven percent say that system functionality influences their decisions to purchase or switch systems, 48 percent say that cost is influencing their decisions to purchase or switch systems, and 69 percent of respondents say that coordination of care with hospitals has not improved. It wasn't all bad though. Most were confident their EHR vendor would be in business in five years.
The findings justify numerous other survey results, including from the American College of Physicians (ACP), American EHR Partners, and the Rand Corporation, which all express a dissatisfied contingent of physicians.
