Physicians weigh in on Meaningful Use, EHRs, and mHealth technolgies

Fifty-six percent of physicians are already at Meaningful Use (MU) Stage 2 and 71% plan to reach MU Stage 3, according to a new survey by consulting firm Deloitte.

In addition, 75% of physicians report that electronic health records (EHRs) increase cost and do not save time, but 70% say they provide useful analytics, and 60% think they support value-based care.

The survey queried 561 physicians on MU, EHRs, and mobile health (mHealth) technologies. Regarding mHealth, nine of ten physicians are interested in it and 24% are already using it in some form. But 45% say a key barrier is access to such technologies in the workplace.

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Consumers are more enthusiastic than physicians about the monitoring potential of mHealth devices. Just 38% of physicians say “monitoring patients conditions and adherence” is a potential benefit, while a previous Deloitte survey of U.S. consumers showed that six in 10 felt that way. Security and privacy of protected information is a constraint of mhealth technologies, according to 43% of physicians.

Regarding MU, 68% of respondents do not believe that it increases productivity, 58% feel MUs do not differentiate their practice among consumers, and 48% feel MUs do not support care coordination.

The survey, conducted in June, was a random sample of U.S. primary care and specialist physicians selected from the American Medical Association’s master physician file.