Cardiologists Less Likely to Embrace Use of Medical Software

HealthDay via U.S. News released a survey, reporting the rate of electronic health record adoption among U.S. physicians.  While the study showed that a little over half of the doctor population have implemented an EHR or EMR, EHR in the cardiology specialty remains low.  According to PrognoCIS sales rep Ian Daniels, only 25 percent of the cardiologist population has a medical software solution in use in their practice. 

The survey, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, is based on mail-in responses by 3,200 physicians nationwide that started in 2011 and expected to continue until 2013.  The survey was set up to study the opinions and practices surrounding EHR software.  According to Daniels, cardiologists’ implementation hesitation stems from the belief that an EHR will only slow the practice down.  75 percent of physicians out of the 55 percent that use an electronic system feel that the system they purchased meets their needs in playing a “meaningful” role in their practice.  Are we listening, cardiology docs?

Not surprisingly, 47 percent of those with an EHR claim to be “somewhat” happy “very” happy with the day-to-day operations of their EHR medical software and 38 percent say they are “very” happy.  3 out of 4 also responded that they have seen an improvement in patient care since implementation.  What the fearful cardiologists don’t realize is that an EHR is equipped with circulatory system specific templates to follow when performing exams and procedures.  Data entry and record retrieval is quick and easy and less likely to contain errors if the templates are followed correctly.  “By using specialty-specific templates that are customized for the practice, as well as accommodating a compound note that can include dictation, we successfully strive to provide a workflow that the physician can use that will not slow him down,” says Daniels.