America Speaks, And Wants Electronic Health Records

    IRVINE, CA, October 06, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Six years ago, President George W. Bush declared that within a decade, every American must have a personal electronic health record. Channeling the Republican party's 1928 "chicken in every pot" campaign for President Herbert Hoover, President Bush's call to action would take some doing, and it was not until President Obama took the reigns that the vision of universal health IT came into view. Now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken on the significant task of pushing citizens to understand the value and embrace the concept of electronic health records. Yet it remains to be seen whether patients will be willing to engage with electronic health records software in the way that the technology's proponents are hoping for.

One encouraging sign comes from consumer surveys conducted over the last year, which indicate that the majority of adults in the United States would be interested in some aspects of health IT. According to an Intuit poll conducted last January, three fourths of American adults said they would use a secure online tool to make it easier to communicate with the doctor's office. In addition, 50 percent of those who expressed interest in secure online access would consider switching to a doctor whose office offered the service. The study indicates that 51 percent of people would ask more care-related questions if they could securely connect with doctors online. Over 80 percent said they'd schedule appointments online, 68 percent said they'd request prescriptions, 62 percent would obtain lab results, 59 percent would complete medical forms, and over half of those surveyed said they'd review and pay medical bills online if their doctors used electronic health records software than enabled these connected services.

In February of 2011, a survey conducted by Dell found that 75 percent of U.S. adults surveyed would like to have their electronic health records shared between their doctors, their local hospitals, and other healthcare providers that they see. The survey, designed to determine what capabilities and tools should be implemented to improve the patient experience, also suggests that most people would like the ability to email with their doctor and access their personal health information through a website. The main concerns expressed by those surveyed regarded security and privacy.

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