Ninety percent say electronic medical records are integral to effective patient care
DUBLIN; MAY 14, 2013 –
The majority of Irish doctors (68 percent) reported actively using electronic medical records (EMR) in a survey by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) of 250 physicians, released today at the World of Healthcare Information Technology conference in Dublin. Irish physicians also reported that using EMR was improving their productivity by reducing paperwork (50 percent) and also enhancing the quality of patient care (65 percent).
“Electronic medical records are better for patients and better for medical staff. They help improve the quality of patient care and capture critical patient feedback,” said Pat Power, who leads Accenture’s healthcare business in Ireland. “The short-term benefit is that information becomes readily available to medical staff and, longer-term, could result in the effective allocation of resources to meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population.”
However, few of the doctors surveyed (17 percent) reported receiving IT training for using EMR systems. And, in some cases, the lack of industry-wide adoption for new technologies, such as using e-prescribing, has resulted in the majority of doctors (72 percent) still manually writing prescriptions. Additionally, not many doctors surveyed (10 percent) have regularly conducted patient consultations via telephone or have used video-conference or remote monitoring to interact with patients or monitor their progress. However, three-fourths of doctors (74 percent) would support having the ability to virtually assist patients in between physician visits.
The majority of doctors (67 percent) reported that cost was the single greatest barrier to EMR adoption; many physicians also reported that patient privacy (50 percent) and interoperability (46 percent) were additional barriers. In addition, 20 percent of doctors surveyed reported not having access to a computer with high-speed Internet or an EMR system.
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Methodology
The Accenture survey , was conducted by Millward Brown (part of the WPP Group) between April 10 and May4, 2013 and included 248 doctors, across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The majority (237 doctors) were interviewed by phone and some (11) completed the survey online.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Through its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship focus, Accenture is committed to equipping 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.
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Media Contact:
Jenn Francis (U.S.)
Accenture Health & Public Service
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