Poll finds cautious support for health IT

WASHINGTON A clear majority of Americans support the adoption of electronic medical records and the general concept of health information technology, but many remain leery about the potential for abuse and loss of privacy that could come with the shift.

That was the conclusion of a telephone poll of more than 1,200 Americans in March. The random survey, sponsored by National Public Radio, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, found widespread acceptance of the conversion by the nation’s healthcare providers and institutions to the electronic storage and transmission of patient information. But well over half of those polled also expressed concern that their private health data could fall into the wrong hands, and one in three respondents said the conversion to health IT would actually cause health care costs to go up, not down.

Nevertheless, pollsters found widespread, if guarded, support for the Obama Administration’s effort to shift the nation’s sprawling, antiquated health care system onto an electronic platform. According to the survey results, 67% of Americans predict the adoption of EMRs and health IT could improve the quality of health care, and more than half say it could prevent the provision of unnecessary care to those who don’t need it.

One revealing finding: nearly half of those surveyed said their doctors already use a computer to record health information about the patient during his or her visit.