Study: Health IT Benefits Outweigh Negatives
A survey conducted by RAND concludes that the many health IT benefits outweigh any negative or neutral instances
A report by RAND Corporation found most benefits of Health IT outweigh negative and neutral effects of using this type of technology. The study was conducted in January 2014 and examined 236 health IT studies ranging from 2010 to 2013.
Government Health IT explains the findings of the study, writing, "Seventy-seven percent of them reported either positive or mixed-positive outcomes, meaning there existed at least one negative association between health IT and the care metric, but the original authors concluded the benefits outweighed negative or neutral effects." Furthermore, "Nearly 20 percent of the studies on health IT's efficiency outcomes yielded negative results, and only 45 percent saw overwhelmingly positive outcomes. Researchers described efficiency as including costs, utilization, and timeliness."
As explained by U.S. News, the results of the study "came up with the surprising finding that hassles with electronic health records were one of the top two areas of dissatisfaction among doctors. The other leading source of professional frustration was that doctors felt bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles got in the way of the best patient care they could provide."
They also added, "As every CEO and small business owner knows, a satisfied worker is more likely to be a productive and efficient worker. So, too, a professionally satisfied doctor is the kind of doctor a patient wants to see. Studies show that when physicians burn out, they make more mistakes, and the doctor/patient relationship deteriorates.
"Seeking potential solutions to physician burnout, researchers looked at 30 physician practices in six states: Colorado, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. They personally interviewed 108 physicians and got written survey responses from 447 more."
The actual report explains in detail the overview of the survey, as well as the results they concluded from the survey. “What really satisfied physicians was good patient care,” says Dr. Mark Friedberg, a scientist at Rand and the lead author of the report. “They have to perceive that they’re providing high-quality patient care."