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U.S. physicians lag on EMR use

But American patients can access care more quickly than can those in many other countries, an international survey of doctors found.

By Doug Trapp, amednews staff. Posted Nov. 19, 2009.

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Patients in the United States wait less time to see primary care and specialty physicians than do patients in 10 other countries, but they have more difficulty paying for prescription drugs and health care. Physicians in this country are much less likely to use electronic medical records and to be offered financial rewards for quality gains than are doctors outside of the U.S.

A Commonwealth Fund survey of more than 10,000 primary care doctors in 11 countries, released Nov. 5, highlights the differences between the public/private U.S. health system and the entirely public systems of nations such as the United Kingdom. The survey -- conducted from February to July -- included doctors in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.

Only 46% of U.S. physicians said they use EMR systems that have more than a billing function. Only Canadian doctors reported less use, at 37%. In contrast, virtually all doctors in the Netherlands, Norway and New Zealand said they used full EMRs.

Access to care was better in the U.S, though. Only 28% of patients in the United States tell their physicians they face long waits to see specialists, the second lowest of the surveyed countries. In contrast, 75% of Italian and Canadian doctors said their patients reported long wait times for appointments with specialists.

The report is online (www.commonwealthfund.org/content/publications/in-the-literature/2009/nov/a-survey-of-primary-care-physicians.aspx).

This content was published online only.

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