According to the latest Accenture survey, more than 90 percent of 1,100 U.S patients surveyed want to manage their healthcare with technology but nearly half (46 percent) didn’t know if their health records are available electronically.
“Patients increasingly want access to their personal medical information, anytime, anywhere,” said Kaveh Safavi, MD, JD, who leads Accenture’s North America health industry group. “But they’re not willing to give up the option of face time with their physicians.”
The “Accenture Connected Health Pulse Survey” conducted from March 40 through April 4, 2012, determined the level of access and preferred channels of access to electronic healthcare related information and services, gauged patient perceptions of EHRs, and explored differences in patient perspectives versus physicians as well as between federal health personnel and the general population.
Many patients look to the web for self-service options such as access to personal medical information, to book, change, or cancel appointments, or to request prescription refills. The majority of patients want to take advantage of self-service options such as email and mobile devices.
Interestingly, some geographical differences with patients can affect their desire for online access. The study revealed that patients who primarily live in rural areas are less likely to want their records available online.
The survey was released June 20th at America’s Health Insurance Plans Annual Meeting. For more information, go to http://www.accenture.com/.
