Study: U.S. leads other countries in health IT adoption
The U.S. is a leader in health IT use and adoption by physicians, according to a new eight-country study from consulting, technology services company Accenture. The study, which includes Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the U.S., shows that the U.S. is one of the few countries in which health IT penetration is nearly equal among primary physicians and specialists.
The researchers analyzed how countries and health systems are applying systematic approaches to healthcare IT. The findings are the result of more than 160 interviews with health leaders and a survey of 3,700 physicians across the eight countries as well as extensive secondary research.
The study noted differences in IT use across a variety of care settings. In primary care, for example, Spain scored the highest overall for connected health “maturity.” In fact, according to the study, 58 percent of Spanish physicians are routine users of health IT functions and 52 percent regularly participate in health information exchange (HIE). While healthcare IT maturity in primary care was higher in England (63 percent) and Australia (62 percent), primary care physicians’ use of HIE was significantly less advanced.
The U.S. performed above several countries in the use of healthcare IT and was a leader in many capabilities of HIEs, including e-prescribing, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), e-referrals and administrative tools, according to the study "Connected Health: The Drive to Integrated Healthcare Delivery."
“Approximately 62 percent of specialists are using electronic tools in the U.S. to improve administrative efficiency (i.e. e-scheduling, e-billing), compared to a 49 percent global average,” the report stated. Additionally, “59 percent of U.S. physicians enter patient notes electronically during and after appointments, the same as their international colleagues in the study.”
More than half of U.S. primary doctors (54 percent), the most of any country surveyed, are using e-prescribing to send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, compared to just 20 percent on average for the other countries. According to the report, 48 percent of physician specialists send electronic orders compared to the 36 percent global average for the study.
Thirty percent of primary and specialist physicians send and receive e-referrals for recommending care outside their organization. Independent physicians, however, were significantly less likely to make use of HIE capabilities compared to physicians who are employed or aligned with larger health systems, according to the Reston, Va.-based Accenture.
According to the study, U.S. health systems are rapidly adopting HIE capabilities and are enabling more physicians to share and exchange patient data:
The researchers analyzed how countries and health systems are applying systematic approaches to healthcare IT. The findings are the result of more than 160 interviews with health leaders and a survey of 3,700 physicians across the eight countries as well as extensive secondary research.
The study noted differences in IT use across a variety of care settings. In primary care, for example, Spain scored the highest overall for connected health “maturity.” In fact, according to the study, 58 percent of Spanish physicians are routine users of health IT functions and 52 percent regularly participate in health information exchange (HIE). While healthcare IT maturity in primary care was higher in England (63 percent) and Australia (62 percent), primary care physicians’ use of HIE was significantly less advanced.
The U.S. performed above several countries in the use of healthcare IT and was a leader in many capabilities of HIEs, including e-prescribing, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), e-referrals and administrative tools, according to the study "Connected Health: The Drive to Integrated Healthcare Delivery."
“Approximately 62 percent of specialists are using electronic tools in the U.S. to improve administrative efficiency (i.e. e-scheduling, e-billing), compared to a 49 percent global average,” the report stated. Additionally, “59 percent of U.S. physicians enter patient notes electronically during and after appointments, the same as their international colleagues in the study.”
More than half of U.S. primary doctors (54 percent), the most of any country surveyed, are using e-prescribing to send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, compared to just 20 percent on average for the other countries. According to the report, 48 percent of physician specialists send electronic orders compared to the 36 percent global average for the study.
Thirty percent of primary and specialist physicians send and receive e-referrals for recommending care outside their organization. Independent physicians, however, were significantly less likely to make use of HIE capabilities compared to physicians who are employed or aligned with larger health systems, according to the Reston, Va.-based Accenture.
According to the study, U.S. health systems are rapidly adopting HIE capabilities and are enabling more physicians to share and exchange patient data:
- Seventy-four percent of primary doctors and specialists share patient data across their own organization to improve clinical protocols.
- Increasingly, U.S. physicians are sharing patient data outside their organization to improve disease management. According to the study, 44 percent of specialists and 39 percent of primary doctors practice this on a regular basis.
- Thirty-eight percent of U.S. primary doctors have electronic access to clinical data about patients who have been seen by a different health organization, compared to 33 percent among primary doctors on average for the study.
- Approximately 17 percent of U.S. doctors have provided patients with access to their own medical information – more than double the global average of 8 percent for all eight countries.