The number of healthcare professionals pleased with their electronic health record systems continues to grow, with a majority of those surveyed by business software vendor Capterra saying they either were satisfied or very satisfied with their tools.
The survey of 400 physicians, nurses and administrators, released Sept 15, found 51 percent of respondents to be satisfied with their systems and another 19 percent very satisfied. Only 7 percent were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, mainly because their EHRs lacked features. Most professionals also reported that their EHRs have had a positive impact on patient safety, records security and time spent record keeping.
Most of the respondents (63 percent) were still using first generation EHRs. The primary reason users switched EHRs was because they wanted features that their existing systems did not have. The second most commonly cited reasons for changing was lack of vendor support.
The top five most requested features were voice recognition, mobile integration/apps, a medical dictionary, telemedicine capabilities and marketing functionalities. Not surprisingly, the two highest priorities were functionality and ease of use.
The respondents reported that they spend an average of $117,672 a year on their systems. A majority (56 percent) spent six months or less searching for their EHR. A plurality of 41 percent only demoed two options before buying, while 15 percent only demoed one, and 17 percent didn't demo any before purchasing.
Despite all of the talk of the "cloud," 56 percent said they were using on-premise installed systems.
The market for EHRs grew to $24.9 billion in 2014 and is expected to rise to $35.2 billion by 2019, according to the report.
The survey dovetails with other recent reports that physicians are becoming more satisfied with the systems they're using and that the number of practices that are replacing systems is rising, which may be related. However, usability and functionality are still problem areas.
To learn more:
- here's the study