The Health and Human Services Department will conduct surveys to learn more about patient perceptions and preferences for the use of health IT when it comes to healthcare.
While health IT experts agree HITECH stimulus funds are likely to enhance how healthcare providers practice medicine for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and advance patient-focused medical care for all Americans, there is a lack of knowledge about patients’ preferences and perceptions of delivery of healthcare services by those physicians who have implemented EHR systems, HHS said.
To get an overview of what individuals think of health IT use, the plan is to survey 860 patients about their opinion of their medical care when their physicians use EHRs. The goal of the research is to help policymakers understand how primary care practices’ use of EHRs impact consumers’ satisfaction with their medical care, communication with their doctor and the coordination of care.
Unless carefully designed, this sort of study could demonstrate an inaccurate bias in favor of health IT because those who are not comfortable with the technologies might very well avoid taking part in the study. As well, age will certainly be a factor as some older adults might not feel comfortable to be involved.