Docs Cite EHRs As Top IT Concern; Shun Telehealth, Social Media

When it comes to implementing electronic health records into daily workflow, 17 percent of physicians responding to a newly published survey say it is their top IT concern.  For the second straight year, the adoption of EHRs is the most pressing tech problem physicians face, according to the Physicians Practice 2014 Technology Survey, conducted by Kareo.  Of the 1,442 respondents to the survey, lack of interoperability between EHRs also was a pressing issue--with 16 percent calling it a major concern, according to an announcement on the study.

The Physicians Practice survey isn't the only report to show physician dissatisfaction with EHRs. In a recent RAND Report, physicians said they saw EHRs as good in concept, but said the technology "significantly worsened" their professional satisfaction.  Meanwhile, 13.3 percent of respondents worry that technology implementation costs are too high; almost 40 percent of respondents don't foresee spending more on technology in the next two years than they do currently.  When it comes to social media use among physicians, a whopping 62 percent say they do not use it to communicate information about their practice to the community. This is no surprise, as traditional media, such as news releases and media interviews, still reigns even among health policy researchers.

Telehealth is another area that a majority of respondents say they have little interest. More than half say their practice is not considering using the technology. However, thanks to a recent proposal on expanded telehealth services made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as recent efforts to ease licensing requirements by the Federation of State Medical Boards, its use could grow...