According to a study of 1,000 people by Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, one in four don’t see a primary care physician, less than one-fifth of patients say their family doctors are using a Web site for communicating with them, and 54 percent say they are interested in viewing their medical records online.
When asked if they’d like more access to their doctors — namely, the ability to contact them after hours — IBM says, 70 percent of respondents who had visited the ER five or more times in the past year said yes, indicating such access could eliminate unnecessary emergency room visits.
As to barriers to wellness visits, 55 percent cite cost as a deterrent, 38 percent do not believe it is worth the expense and more than one-third — the majority over age 50 — perceive wellness visits to be an “abuse of the healthcare system.”
