Only One-Third Of 1,300 Doctors Surveyed Who Have Mobile EMRs Use Them

More than half of US physicians regularly use a PDA or handheld computer during the course of a typical work week -but most rely on their devices for administrative and scheduling activities -rather than for clinical tasks. Technology vendors hope that doctors' willingness to adopt new technologies to make their professional lives easier will open the floodgates to widespread adoption of portable clinical solutions -but they're still waiting.

PHYSICIAN SEGMENTS VARY IN THEIR ADOPTION OF HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY

Recent data from the American Medical Association/Forrester Research 2005 Physicians And Technology Study of 1,331 US physicians show doctors as technology-savvy gadget grabbers — at least compared with the average consumer. At 57%, US doctors, as a group, are nearly five times more likely
than the general US consumer to have a PDA or handheld computer like a tablet PC.

But not all MDs display an equal affinity for nifty handheld devices. Which doctors own handhelds?

 

 

BASIC ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES AND DRUG RESEARCH DOMINATE HANDHELD USAGE

The majority of US doctors primarily turn to their handhelds for personal information management; 87% use these devices to maintain their address book, 80% keep on top of their appointments and 65% to check medications.

 

More information is available from Forrester Research

 

Forrester Research.