Harris Interactive news from FierceHealthcare

If you're convinced that people won't settle for cut-rate retail clinic care, think again. Though some quality concerns remain, most U.S. residents who have visited a retail clinic are satisfied with the service they received, according to a new survey by The Wall Street Journal Online and Harris Interactive. The research, which surveyed 2,441 U.S. adults, found that five percent had visited a retail clinic. Nearly half (44 percent) visited for a vaccination, 33 percent …

Physicians, more patients than you might think believe you're not sparing enough with prescriptions and treatments. A new study by the Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive found that more than a quarter of patients have failed to fill a drug prescription because they felt that it was unnecessary, and that 20 percent have gotten a second opinion when they felt their doctor's recommendations were too aggressive for their taste. All told, 44 percent of people surveyed told …

While nobody's suggesting that employer-sponsored health coverage is perfect, employees haven't lost faith in it yet. According to a new survey released by The Wall Street Journal and polling firm Harris Interactive, most adults feel reasonably confident that their coverage will meet their needs next year, though more than a third expect to see their premiums go up. Few are opting for consumer-driven options, however. Release

> According to a new study by Harris Interactive, many Americans feel that hospitals and managed companies should face more regulation. Of course, there are just a few regs in place already... Release

> The juggernaut keeps rolling. Wal-Mart is rolling …

A new study suggests that most pregnant women in the U.S. are still experiencing high-tech, medically-complex childbirth, with most opting for several interventions. The organizations behind the study, meanwhile, contend that many of these interventions are excessive and possibly dangerous if used on healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies. One of the organizations backing the study, Lamaze International, is a high-profile proponent for "natural" childbirth. The other, Childbirth …

The fallout from Wal-Mart's $4 generics campaign could be much more dramatic than we thought. A new study from the Wall Street Journal Online and survey firm Harris Interactive predicts that not only will Wal-Mart-style cheap generics attract customers to stores, they could potentially shift long-term U.S. prescribing and purchasing patterns. Dirt-cheap generics seem very …

The promise of Electronic Medical Records: streamlined, simplified healthcare without the hassle of paper--a program that combines virtually all of a practice's chores into one easy-to-use system. Ten years ago, we though that most healthcare providers would have made EMRs part of their daily lives by now. But as we all know, the movement is just getting started now rather than being well under way. A recent Harris Interactive poll found that only 17 percent of primary care docs use EMRs. …

The majority of Americans think that the results of taxpayer-funded medical research should be made available online for free. A WSJ/Harris Interactive poll found that about 83 percent of Americans agree with the premise that government-supported research should be made available on the Internet. About the same number--80 percent--said they think that having access to such research would help people with chronic conditions manage their healthcare more effectively. The issue of …

Two surveys released today show that seniors are still very confused about the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan that will start in January 2006. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that while 20 percent plan to enroll and 37 percent plan not to, 43 percent don't know. These numbers are somewhat in contrast to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll which now has 50 percent of seniors planning to enroll, although 24 percent of those are only "somewhat …

A Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll finds that a majority of Americans want regulation of key industries, particularly those involved in the healthcare field. Americans want tougher regulation of the pharmaceutical (51 percent) and insurance sectors (46 percent). However, despite higher insurance premiums, the appetite for regulation appears diminished. Most Americans seem to think hospitals are doing fairly well on their own, with only 28 percent favoring …