Private specialists shun e-health

Specialist physicians are e-health luddites, with as few as one in ten using computers in their private practice, a new survey suggests. While virtually all GPs are using computers in their clinical work, only 12.6% of specialist physicians were using computers in private hospitals and 27% used computers in their consulting rooms, a study published in Internal Medicine Journal this week shows. The survey of more than 2300 fellows of the RACP found that computers were used by two out of three specialists working in public hospitals, who used them primarily for looking up information, receiving test results electronically and for educational activities. But in private practice the picture was one of limited access and infrequent use of computers. Despite the fact that about 40% of specialists spent most of their time working in consulting rooms, only a small number used computers in these locations. Only 15% used computers to access to patient medical records and 11% used computers for prescribing....