Adoption of Digital Medical Records, p-2
satisfaction, 87% said it allowed them to deliver better care, and 89% saw improved compliance
with managed care (Harris Interactive, 2003). One health record exchange pilot project involving
three Indianapolis hospitals found an average reduction of $27 in costs per patient visit (mostly
from reducing waste and duplication) (Ferris, 2005b).
Connecting for Health (2005) reported on a series of focus groups and national surveys
investigating the public’s awareness of and willingness to adopt a DMRs. They found that people
have a limited understanding of health IT today. When presented with messages about the
potential benefits of DMRs, more than half said they had never thought about concepts such as
(a) I should have access to my health information anywhere, anytime, or (b) My own online
medical record would help me get all my doctors on the same page when they treat me. Yet,
72% of the respondents to their 2004 survey strongly or somewhat agreed that they wanted to be
involved in medical decisions that affect them, and having their own medical record would help
them make better decisions; and 62% strongly or somewhat agreed that they would like to have
all their health information in one place, and obtain it with a click of the mouse. Participants in
the 2003 focus groups reported a strong desire to have total control of their personal health
information, wanting the power to decide who could and could not access their record and an
expectation that they should provide explicit consent to any access. Their 2003 survey of online
Americans (Connecting for Health, 2003) found these medical services desired by the respective
percents: email my doctor (75%), track immunizations (69%), note mistakes in record (69%),
transfer information to new doctors (65%), and get and track test results (63%). Still, 96% were
most comfortable with their primary care doctors having access to their medical record (58%
preferred their doctor’s office to be the host of an online medical record system), and the
majority were comfortable with the idea of having family members (69%) and their health
insurance company (65%) having access.
Convention