Nearly three-quarters of respondents to a recent poll said they would like to have an online connection to their physician's office, according to Intuit Health's second annual Health Care Check-Up Survey, InformationWeek reports (Lewis, InformationWeek, 3/4).
Intuit Health is a developer of patient portal and communication tools (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 3/3). Decipher Research conducted the survey for Intuit Health by polling 1,000 U.S. adults online in January.
Key Findings
According to the survey, 73% of respondents said they would use a secure online communication system to obtain laboratory results, request appointments, pay medical bills and communicate with their physician's office.
The survey also found that:
81% of respondents said they would be willing to use a secure Web service to schedule their own appointments and fill out forms before their appointment;
78% said they would be willing to use a secure online platform to access their medical history and share data with their physician;
59% of respondents ages 28 to 46 said they would switch to a physician with a greater online presence, compared with 29% of respondents ages 47 to 65; and
Nearly 20% of respondents said they could not easily reach their physician's office to ask questions, schedule appointments or obtain lab results (InformationWeek, 3/4).
Conclusions
Steve Malik, president and general manager of Intuit Health, said patients "want some measure of control, convenience and better communication with their doctor."
He added, "Doctors who offer secure online solutions can meet this patient demand while increasing office efficiency and enhancing the doctor-patient relationship" (Healthcare IT News, 3/3).