Survey: Physicians wary of EHR value

A new survey finds that the majority of physicians believe the cost of EHRs outweigh the benefits.

athenahealth, a leading provider of cloud-based services for EHR, practice management and care coordination, released the results from its fourth annual Physician Sentiment Index (PSI), which each year checks the pulse of a national pool of physicians to see how they're feeling about navigating various industry changes and challenges.

The company surveyed 1,200 providers in the Epocrates' physician user base to gauge physician awareness and opinions of healthcare and health IT.

Independent doctors, who account for just over half of the physicians surveyed, are feeling the most pressure when it comes to industry change and requirements. In fact, 78 percent of all physicians surveyed said they are not optimistic about independent/small groups surviving. Independent physicians are more skeptical of the positive impact that EHRs have on patient care, a PSI trend that has gained momentum since 2010. Also, with the Affordable Care Act fueling the rise of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other models that incent physicians and hospitals to reduce the cost of care, independent physicians remain skeptical of the benefits for them and their patients.

While many physicians believe that shifting reimbursement models away from fee-for-service will positively impact the quality of care, there are concerns that it won't come easy or cheap. Findings show that the majority of physicians surveyed believe these models will positively impact quality of care, negatively impact profits and create more burden to get paid.

The survey revealed a general sense of unfamiliarity with the accountable care model among physicians. Nearly 75 percent of physicians surveyed have either only "heard of" or are "somewhat familiar with" an ACO, and 26 percent of physicians responded that they "don't know" if they are participating in any "pay-for-performance" programs.

In other findings, more than 60 percent of providers believe the current healthcare climate is somewhat-to-very detrimental to care—a consistent trend over the past four years of the PSI survey. Nearly 60 percent of providers think the quality of medicine will decline over the next five years and more than half of providers do not believe government's involvement in healthcare will lower costs or improve outcomes.

"Doctors are besieged by change and requirements and it's incredibly difficult for them to keep up. The findings of the 2013 Physician Sentiment Index send up a number of warning signals. As an industry and country, we need to pay attention to the fact that doctors are overwhelmed and challenged in areas they shouldn't be," said Todd Rothenhaus, MD and CMO of athenahealth, in a release. "Physicians lack the time and, in too many cases, the resources to thrive through change. They need better support and need to know there are tools and services to remove the 'busy' work, so they can focus on patient care."