The Digital Doctor is In

Transcription

1 The Digital Doctor is In Accenture Eight-Country Survey of Doctors Shows Significant Increase in Healthcare IT Usage An Accenture survey among 3,700 doctors in eight countries reveals that today s doctors are going digital now more than ever before. In fact, the recent Accenture Doctors Survey showed a spike in healthcare IT usage across all countries surveyed (Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States). The Accenture survey compares findings from last year s survey to reveal prevailing perceptions among doctors today, and show trends across areas of healthcare IT. Based on this year s findings that show increasing levels of adoption of EMR and HIE, the digital doctor is in and is here to stay. Going digital globally Globally, the number of physicians who describe themselves as routinely accessing clinical data about patients seen by different health organizations has increased by 42 percent (rising from 33 percent of doctors surveyed in 2011, to 47 percent in 2012). Accessing clinical data about patients is one of the simplest forms of information exchange in healthcare, so this leap in activity is promising as it illustrates that doctors are embracing the benefits of sharing and receiving information via HIE. Another key indicator of the overall rise in healthcare IT is the fact that 91 percent of physicians surveyed report that they are active users of electronic medical records either in their own practice or hospital/ clinic. More than half of the doctors surveyed (60 percent) report using an EMR in their own medical practice. This indicates that more and more doctors are going paperless. While globally, there is virtually no change in the number of physicians reporting they routinely receive clinical results electronically that populate patients EMR, use varies by country. For example, Singapore showed the largest increase between 2011 and 2012 (40 percent), and the US showed the second largest increase (24 percent). Terminology: Healthcare IT is an umbrella term for the exchange of health information in an electronic environment, including health information exchange, electronic medical record and electronic health record. Health information exchange (HIE) is the mobilization of healthcare information electronically across organizations within a region, community or hospital system. An electronic medical record (EMR) is a computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or doctor s office, usually part of a local standalone health information system that allows storage, retrieval and modification of records. Electronic health record (EHR) is a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations in digital format and capable of being shared across different healthcare settings.

2 Figure 1: Digital doctors across all eight countries are routinely accessing clinical data about patients seen by different health organizations. Australia Use Routinely Canada Interested in Using England Use Sometimes France Not Interested in Using Germany Use Rarely Global Singapore Spain United States % Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities? [Function: I have electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different health organization (e.g., hospital, laboratory)] Routinely reaching for the mouse Today s doctors are turning more often to their PCs for clinical data. For example, the global number of physicians electronically entering patient notes routinely has overall increased by 14 percent in the past year. The US showed the largest increase in the number of doctors electronically entering patient notes either during or after consultations, moving from 58 percent to 78 percent, a year-on-year increase of 34 percent. Globally, the number of digital doctors who routinely e-prescribe (electronically send prescriptions to pharmacies) increased by 17 percent, changing from 18 percent in 2011 to 21 percent in Singapore (36 percent), the US (33 percent) and Spain (32 percent) showed the largest increases in e-prescribing. England and Canada showed no significant change. Certain countries also showed an increase in sending order requests to laboratories. Singapore had the highest increase at 75 percent, with the US following at 21 percent. The Singapore Surge It s not surprising that Singapore showed one of the largest increases in accessing clinical data about patients seen by different health organizations, moving from 32 percent in 2011 to 49 percent in 2012 (an overall jump of 53 percent), as they are in process of implementing a national electronic health record (NEHR) system. The NEHR enables a single patient health record for clinicians to access across the healthcare continuum. As patients visit providers including primary care clinics, acute and community hospitals healthcare professionals will be able to access a single patient record for medical information. 2 Accenture Doctors Survey

3 Figure 2. The global healthcare IT functionality landscape Healthcare IT functions overall showed several increases among the eight countries surveyed. Healthcare IT function Australia Canada England France Germany Singapore Spain United States Electronically enters patient notes either during or after consultations 56% 64% 36% 44% 54% 64% 67% 68% 74% 77% 41% 52% 72% 73% 58% 78% Organization uses electronic tools to reduce administrative burden for delivering healthcare 57% 50% 50% 50% 36% 29% 57% 36% 57% 59% 38% 57% 65% 47% 61% 55% Receives electronic alerts/reminders while seeing patients 40% 44% 17% 19% 45% 46% 27% 26% 21% 32% 31% 35% 37% 38% 34% 45% Uses computerized clinical decision support systems to help make diagnostic and treatment decisions while seeing patients 17% 15% 15% 18% 21% 24% 18% 16% 17% 18% 27% 26% 29% 36% 21% 24% Receives clinical results electronically that populate patients EMR Has electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different health organization 62% 67% 36% 41% 64% 60% 52% 37% 48% 50% 35% 49% 64% 63% 50% 62% 26% 42% 31% 44% 41% 54% 29% 34% 22% 39% 32% 49% 49% 69% 34% 45% Electronically sends order requests to labs 22% 12% 18% 17% 44% 46% 16% 9% 49% 31% 32% 56% 59% 61% 47% 57% Electronically sends/receives referrals to/from health professionals in other organizations 16% 15% 16% 17% 35% 33% 19% 26% 11% 10% 26% 21% 47% 55% 27% 32% Communicates electronically with clinicians in other organizations 25% 13% 20% 16% 39% 31% 32% 24% 24% 17% 32% 29% 44% 30% 25% 23% Electronically e-prescribes 5% 6% 8% 8% 12% 12% 11% 7% 7% 4% 36% 49% 25% 33% 49% 65% Electronically notified of patients interactions with other health organizations 15% 20% 13% 12% 25% 29% 12% 15% 11% 11% 23% 19% 29% 32% 19% 19% Communicates electronically with patients to support remote consultation and diagnostics 6% 5% 6% 6% 5% 6% 10% 9% 14% 13% 39% 19% 15% 12% 13% 13% Accenture Doctors Survey 3

4 Figure 3: On the rise: These functions represent the top five increases in routine use of healthcare IT These routine uses of clinical data showed the greatest uptick between 2011 and Electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different healthcare organization was the biggest jump of the year. Function 2011 % routine use 2012 % routine use 1. Has electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different healthcare organization 33% 47% 2. Electronically e-prescribes 18% 21% 3. Received electronic alerts/reminders while seeing patients 31% 36% 4. Electronically enters patient notes either during or after consultations 58% 66% 5. Electronically notified of patients interactions with other healthcare organizations 18% 20% Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities? Figure 4: Part of the routine: Top five healthcare IT functions for today s digital doctor Digital doctors are routinely using these functions more than any others. Function 2011 % routine use 2012 % routine use 1. Electronically enters patient notes either during or after consultations 58% 66% 2. Receives clinical results electronically that populate patient s EMR 53% 54% 3. (due to tie) Organization uses electronic tools to reduce administrative burden for delivering healthcare 4. (due to tie) Has electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different healthcare organization 54% 47% 33% 47% 5. Received electronic alerts/reminders while seeing patients 31% 36% Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities? 4 Accenture Doctors Survey

5 Healthcare IT and health information exchange (HIE) are taking hold globally It is encouraging to see that the rise of the digital doctor is happening in the eight countries surveyed. These countries have matured in either their routine use of HIE, adoption and use of healthcare IT or both over the past year. Doctors in the US and Singapore saw increases in both adoption of healthcare IT and HIE from 2011 to 2012, and doctors in Spain and the US showed the highest adoption of healthcare IT and HIE for The Accenture Doctors Survey also examined the differences in maturity between primary and secondary care doctors. The findings showed an increase in healthcare IT and HIE adoption among both types of physicians, particularly in the US, and also Singapore. Primary care: Primary care physicians in the US, Canada and Singapore saw increases in adoption of healthcare IT and HIE from 2011 to In 2012, Spain and England continue to have high healthcare IT and HIE adoption among primary care physicians. Secondary care: Among secondary care physicians, adoption of healthcare IT and HIE increased in Singapore, France and the US from 2011 to Figure 5. Countries are showing increases in connected health maturity across both HIE and EMR. 60 Y Axis Health information exchange (% routine users) Canada Singapore Canada Spain Singapore England England US France Australia Germany Australia Germany France Spain US X Axis EMR adoption and use (% routine users) Connected Health Maturity Index: Total Doctors, Accenture Doctors Survey 5

6 The digital disconnect It is clear that doctors believe in the benefits of healthcare IT, however, the Accenture survey reveals they aren t routinely using technology to interact with their patients or colleagues. Across all countries surveyed, there was also a decrease in the percentage of doctors who routinely communicate electronically with clinicians in other organizations. The global percentage decreased from 30 percent in 2011 to 22 percent in Globally, the percentage of doctors surveyed who routinely communicate electronically with patients was essentially unchanged at 10 percent. Figure 6: Top five least-used functions These healthcare IT areas represent the lowest percentages of routine use in Function % of routine use 1. Communicates electronically to support remote consultation and diagnostics 10% 2. Electronically notified of patients interactions with other health organizations 20% 3. Electronically e-prescribes 21% 4. (due to tie) Communicates electronically with clinicians in other organizations 22% 5. (due to tie) Uses computerized clinical decision support systems to help make diagnostic and treatment decisions while seeing patients 22% Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities? Do age and size of practice influence perceptions? Although not surprising, doctors under 50 years of age are more likely to feel that the quality of patient care throughout the healthcare system has improved due to the use of EMR. Findings related to size of practice did not reveal any major differences. By age: By type of practice: Under 50 67% Age % Solo practice 53% Single-specialty group 58% Multi-specialty group 68% 6 Accenture Doctors Survey

7 A good prognosis for EMR and HIE Doctors across all eight countries believe EMR and HIE enable benefits. The top four areas where doctors surveyed see the most positive impact are in reduction of medical errors (76 percent globally, up 4 percent from last year), better access to quality data for clinical research (74 percent), improved cross-organizational working processes (74 percent) and improved quality of treatment decisions (74 percent). The areas where physicians feel the use of EMR and HIE has had a positive impact are primarily consistent with See the top 10 functions where doctors perceive a positive impact in Figure 7 below. The future of digital healthcare The trend toward IT-enabled healthcare is expected to continue, as doctors continue to go digital. And as the adoption and usage of EMR and HIE continues to rise, there will be greater penetration of electronic health records. According to the Accenture survey, globally, eight out of ten physicians agree that they are committed to promoting electronic health records in their clinical practices because they believe in it. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of physicians surveyed agree that electronic health records are integral to effective patient care today and globally, eight out of ten physicians agree that electronic health records will become integral to effective patient care in the next two years. Although the maturity levels of healthcare IT adoption vary across the eight countries surveyed, there is one common denominator: doctors today believe in the benefits of healthcare IT, and therefore will continue to make it part of their practice. Figure 7: Top 10 functions where doctors globally perceive a positive impact of EMR and HIE Impacts positively No impact Impacts negatively Reduction in medical errors 3% 21% 76% Improved coordination of care across care settings/service boundaries 3% 27% 70% Better access to quality data for clinical research 2% 24% 74% Improved health outcomes 2% 28% 69% Improved cross-organizational working processes 5% 21% 74% Increased speed of access to health services 5% 31% 64% Improved quality of treatment decisions 2% 24% 74% Reduced # of unnecessary interventions/procedures 5% 40% 55% Improved diagnostic decisions 2% 24% 74% Improved patient access to specialist health care services 4% 44% 52% Question: To what extent is the use of electronic medical records and health information exchange (HIE) enabling the following benefits? Accenture Doctors Survey 7

8 Methodology On behalf of Accenture, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 3,700 physicians across eight countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States. The survey included 500 doctors per country (200 from Singapore) and assessed physicians adoption, utilization and attitudes toward healthcare IT. The research was conducted between November 2012 and December The analysis provided comparisons by country, sector, age and use. The margin of error for the eight study countries in total is +/- 1.5 percent. About Accenture Insight Driven Health Insight driven health is the foundation of more effective, efficient and affordable healthcare. That s why the world s leading healthcare providers and health plans choose Accenture for a wide range of insight driven health services that help them use knowledge in new ways from the back office to the doctor s office. Our committed professionals combine realworld experience, business and clinical insights and innovative technologies to deliver the power of insight driven health. For more information, visit: www. accenture.com/insightdrivenhealth. For more information on the survey findings, please contact: Mark Knickrehm Senior Managing Director, Accenture Global Health Industry Rick Ratliff Managing Director, Accenture Connected Health Services richard.ratliff@accenture.com About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, Its home page is Copyright 2013 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its Signature, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. Accenture Doctors Survey 8