80% of patients believe EMRs improve care

A majority of consumers believe electronic medical records (EMRs) will improve patient care, according to survey conducted by The Physicians Foundation.

The survey, which includes responses from 1,747 participants in the U.S., analyzed thoughts on EMRs. The survey found 85 percent of respondents believe EMRs improve care a great deal (42 percent) or help somewhat (43 percent). Additionally, 6 percent believed EMRs hurt patient care somewhat and 2 percent believed it harmed care a great deal.

Further findings included:

• 82 percent of respondents believe all physicians should provide access to EMRs, a drop from 85 percent last year.
• 79 percent believe all physician should have access to their EMRs.
• 77 percent report their physician provides access to their EMRs, an increase from 66 percent last year.
• 74 percent think EMRs will improve the quality of care in general; 73 believe it will improve their quality of their care.
• 85 percent of patients believe advances in technology will greatly improve quality of care.
• 59 percent report the reliance of technology interferes with high quality care.
• 57 percent think physicians rely on what the computer tell them more than what the patient says.
• 46 percent believe their physicians spend more time on the computer than paying attention to the patient.