New Accenture survey finds that 41% of consumers are willing to switch physicians to gain online access to their EMRs highlighting the growing trend towards patient engagement. The online survey included more than 9,000 people in nine countries ages 18+ to assess consumer perceptions of their medical providers’ electronic capabilities across nine countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States. The survey, which included 1,000 U.S. consumers, was fielded by Harris Interactive in July 2013.
Kaveh Safavi M.D., J.D., Managing Director of Accenture’s North America health business believes that the role of the EMR is shifting towards a share decision-making platform for both physicians and patients.
Key survey findings include:
- Only about a third of U.S. consumers (36 percent) currently have full access to their EMR
- More than half (57 percent) have taken ownership of their record by self-tracking their personal health information, including their health history (37 percent), physical activity (34 percent) and health indicators (33 percent), such as blood pressure and weight
- Roughly four out of five consumers (84 percent) surveyed believe they should have full access to their electronic medical record
- Only a third of physicians (36 percent) believe patients should have full access to their EMRs
- The majority of U.S. doctors (65 percent) say patients should only have limited access to their records and that is what most individuals (63 percent) say they currently have