HK doctors support healthcare computerization

By EgovAsia Editors | Jul 1, 2009

More than 80% of private doctors support the introduction of an Electronic Health Record System, according to a survey on private clinic computerization conducted by eHealth Consortium in June this year. The survey also finds that private doctors may need more technical support and training during the implementation of medical computerization.

The survey was conducted in mid-June when questionnaires were mailed to respondents via the Hong Kong Medical Association and the Hong Kong Doctors Union.  A total of 342 completed questionnaires were returned.

Private Doctors Support the Introduction of Electronic Health Records

The findings show that nearly 90% of private doctors agree that computerization could raise the quality of patient care and the efficiency of clinic operation. With clinic computerization, computers could be used to store patient data, test results, diagnosis reports and prescriptions while the efficiency of clinic operation could be enhanced. It also paves the way for the introduction of an interoperable Electronic Health Record System in Hong Kong.
 
Private Doctors are Positive about Clinic Computerization

It can be concluded from the findings that most private doctors adopt a positive attitude toward clinic computerization. More than 20% of private doctors indicate a plan to purchase a computer system within a year. The primary reason cited is to increase the overall operation efficiency (91%); the secondary reasons are to boost the professional image of a clinic (84%) and to refine the Hong Kong medical system (71%).

Among the private clinics that do not plan to go computerization within a year, more than half of the doctors are willing to join electronic health training courses for themselves or send staff to join the courses. They are most interested in subjects like medical IT support and the application of clinical administrative software (each accounts for 73%).

The survey report shows that among the private clinics already installed with computers, more than 60% of the doctors are willing to pay HK$2,000 or more for a clinical function or administrative software. More than 80% of them own more than one computer and hire at least one staff to operate the computer. Among the private clinics using computers, 87% of them make use of computers for administrative work such as registration, making appointments and payments. Meanwhile, 76% of them use computers for clinical use to store patient data, summaries and reports as well as to write and store referral letters.