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Americans prefer digital medical records, survey shows

WASHINGTON – A new national survey shows U.S. adults believe in the benefits of an electronic medical record and would prefer to deal with physicians and insurance companies that use digital records rather than those who do not.

The survey was released here today at the Health IT: Unlocking the Potential summit.

Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente commissioned the telephone survey, which was conducted by StrategyOne, an independent research firm. StrategyOne gathered information form 1,000 consumers, 18 or older, using random dialing.

American adults favor providers (51% over 17%) and insurance carriers (68% over 16%) who use electronic medical records over those who do not.

It confirms what past surveys have found that large numbers of Americans are seeking health information online through Web sites such as Web MD, Revolution Health, Healia, Google and others. It also shows that those online searches are increasingly focusing on the location and management of personal health information. And while 12 percent of Americans currently review their personal medical records on their health insurance company's Web site, more than half say they would like to be able to check claims and coverage or access personal records electronically in the future.

“It is clear that Americans are ready to enter a digital healthcare age," said George Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Seventy-two percent of American adults view a computer system as more efficient than a paper system when it comes to managing medical records.

There is still some ambiguity about the security of electronic medical records compared with paper records, the survey revealed.

Forty seven percent of Americans say paper is more secure, compared to 42 percent who say electronic records are more secure.

Forty seven percent of Americans say paper is more secure, compared to 42 percent who say electronic records are more secure.

“Health care legislation and regulation focus on many privacy concerns without providing guidance on minimum acceptable levels of security," said Bill Conner in his talk at the summit.

Conner is president and CEO of Entrust, a digital security firm.

“Because patients are becoming more discriminate with their healthcare choices, organizations need to understand that both policy combined with adequate security is the key to unlock the benefits of a trusted ecosystem and an organization's brand.”

The survey showed that 73 percent of Americans believe the benefits of electronic records, such as better care in emergencies and reduction in medical errors, outweigh any potential privacy risks.

While interest in this technology is clearly high, not enough information is being shared with patients about its value to their own healthcare, consumers report. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed did not recall seeing, hearing or reading about electronic records before being surveyed.

Myrl Weinberg, president of the National Health Council, said patient awareness of the benefits of electronic medical and health records “will be the key to wider adoption.” "The more familiar patients get with this technology, the more they will see its relevance to their own lives."

Source: Healthcare IT News 05/02/07

Article: Electronic Medical Records: Client/Server or ASP?

When buying Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Software which is better ASP or Client/Server? Unfortunately there is no right answer. You’ll need to decide what’s important to your practice and what’s not. In this article we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of each model so you’ll be able to make an educated decision when the time comes to purchase an EMR software solutions.

ASP is a remotely hosted software system accessed via an internet web browser, similar to the model used in online banking. This remotely hosted system is accessed by paying a rental or service fee. The server is secure and HIPAA compliant and is not located in your office. All technical aspects of the server are managed by a professional IT company, and you pay a monthly access fee (or per occurrence fee) for the services of this IT company. The cost of an ASP-based system is relatively low in the beginning, however because the fees never stop the cost over the long term adds up and is usually ends up being more expensive than using a Client/Server-based system. One of the other benefits of the ASP based system is that almost all computing is done on the remote server, thereby reducing the minimum computer hardware requirements on the clients/workstations. ASP allows you to access all of your information at any time, from any place with internet access. Like all comparisons with advantages come disadvantages. Loss of customize-ability; the host server is being accessed by many different users. Although your data is secure, your individual customized needs are not met as readily as you may desire. One of the other disadvantages is that an ASP system does not move as quickly as a Client/Server system. This is and important factor to consider with point n' click intensive Electronic Medical Record software as vital time may be lost by waiting for data to transfer over the internet; these seconds can quickly add up to minutes and hours in a couple of weeks time. Accountability issues are a deep consideration to ASP. Company service degradation is felt more acutely and such things as vendor bankruptcy could have a more drastic impact on the practice as a whole. Periodically check the stability of the EMR software vendor, and ask for a backup copy of your data for your own records.

Client/Server models allow for quicker response times in the application as the data from the server to the client is transmitted much faster (usually 100 Mbits/second). The newer client/server products developed in Java and Microsoft .Net are capable of offering the “best of both worlds” as they have the speed of a local system plus the accessibility from a remote location. Where traditional client/server products required practices to use MS Terminal Services or Citrix technology to access their data from remote locations, these newer systems can be accessed from any internet browser. Client/Server also boasts the benefits of practice having the control over there data. However with this control comes responsibility; the responsibility of being responsible for your data as you are now open to the risk of theft, fire, hard-drive failure, and data corruption.

Many IT futurists consider ASP based systems to be the future however many offices find they don’t have the need for remote access and don’t want to put their data in the hands of another company making client/server systems still a popular option. In most cases, if an office has multiple locations an ASP system should always be considered but if an office requires high-performance and doesn’t have multiple locations the client/server system may be the better option. Speak with your IT consultant and the software vendor to get all the facts you need to make an educated decision.

This is an excerpt from the The Electronic Medical Record eBook by EMR Experts, Inc. (www.emrexperts.com)

Source: EMR Experts

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This blog will focus on some of the latest technologies emerging in Electronic Medical Records and will serve as a tool for consumers to learn about some of the many vendors in the industry.