And then there’s e-mail. How many of your peers use e-mail to communicate with patients? Our survey says 30 percent. Almost none of those who do, however, have monetized e-mail exchanges. Ninety-eight percent say they don’t charge patients for the privilege to communicate with them via e-mail.

This doesn’t mean physicians are Luddites. Fifty-nine percent say their practice has a Web site. However, just 5 percent of the sites are interactive, meaning patients can use them to make appointments, check on lab results, or ask a question. The rest are just static, informational sites about the practice, office hours, and staff.



Interactivity may be beyond what most practices are ready for, given the low awareness of security issues. When asked, “How sure are you that your electronic records, e-mailed communications, electronic claims, and other digital patient information is secure from hackers?” 21 percent answered, “Electronic what?” An additional 36 percent are not at all sure or just somewhat sure.

Considering the number of BlackBerrys and Palms we see, from the highways and office hallways to the treadmills and restaurant tables, it came as a great surprise that only 24 percent of you report using a personal digital assistant to communicate with your office and family. You know, we’ve come a long way since the carrier pigeon.

What’s next?

So with all of these offerings, and with all of the varying levels of technological proficiency among physicians, what are the most pressing IT problems among your peers? This open-ended query generated a gaggle of answers more diverse than the United Nations, although many are related in some way to the EMR.

“Finding an EMR that lets me continue to practice in the manner that I choose,” one person says.

“There are no standard leaders in medical software as in many other industries,” says another. “There are too many variations and vendors. The interfaces are proprietary rather than open. It is difficult to spend that much money, knowing that the support in the future may be limited and that there may eventually be a standardized software out there.”

“Not being compensated for the added investment” of an EMR, yet another respondent allows.



The pace of technological progress also causes consternation among physicians, as many say their primary problem is simply keeping up with it all. “The biggest challenge is to continue to move forward with changes rather than stopping with current progress,” one survey participant asserts.

If your IT problems seem more prosaic than those mentioned, you’re not alone: Among the more commonplace answers: “Believe it or not, the phone system” is the most pressing problem. “Paying off IT debt.” “Who can remember all the passwords? And everyone has a completely different method of navigating around their systems.” Finally, the most direct answer of all: “Cost and time.”

Mark R. Cheshire is managing editor of Physicians Practice. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he has 15 years of journalism experience. He can be reached at 443 543 5120 or via mcheshire@physicianspractice.com.

This article originally appeared in the September 2007 issue of Physicians Practice.