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The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions is the health services research division of Deloitte. The Center’s goal is to provide research to keep healthcare stakeholders informed on emerging trends and challenges in the industry. The center has released its latest findings in its annual check up on health IT adoption, Physician adoption of health information technology: Implications for medical practice leaders and business partners. The report examines physicians’ current views and use of EHRs, mobile health technologies and meaningful use.
Executive Summary on the Report:
This report assesses physicians’ current use and overall views of electronic health records (EHRs), patient support tools and mobile health technologies from the Deloitte 2013 Survey of U.S. Physicians. HIT in its many forms is the cornerstone of health care system transformation. It is the requisite toolkit whereby clinicians, care teams and their patients will participate effectively in models of care that reward value over volume and capture data required in public performance reporting.
Implementing a health IT adoption strategy by physicians acting independently or with business partners requires answering key questions and carefully considering factors including assembling the right team; capable physician leadership; adequate capital for infrastructure; effective operational integration; and data.
The report highlights findings of physician use and health IT adoption of EHRs including:
- Two-thirds of physicians report that their practice has an EHR that meets MU Stage 1 requirements. This number is higher for those working in an integrated system at 89 percent.
- EHRs meeting MU Stage 1 requirementsi s lower among physicians aged 60+ years
- Practice size is a critical factor for adoption: only 31 percent of solo practitioners have an EHR system that meets MU Stage 1 requirements compared with 62 percent of mid-size practices employing between two and nine physicians and 82 percent of larger practices employing 10 or more physicians.
- A majority of physicians in practices that do not have an EHR meeting MU Stage 1 requirements say that the upfront financial investment and the additional burden to an already complex delivery process are the greatest barriers to EHR adoption.
- Based on their EHR experience, seven out of 10 physicians whose practice has an EHR meeting MU Stage 1 requirements think that the greatest EHR benefits are faster and more accurate service billing, time savings through e-prescribing, and improved communication and care coordination capabilities.
With regards to adoption of mobile health technologies, security remains a primary concern. 43% of the physicians survey concern over protection of PHI is a constraint of mhealth. You can view Deloitte’s infographic on physician views of mhealth.