Electronic health records key to
patient care quality improvement

Doctors in England widely support patient access

Overview



LONDON; April 22, 2013 – A new Accenture (NYSE:ACN) survey reveals that almost two thirds of doctors surveyed in England (65 percent) believe that the introduction of electronic health records has improved the quality of patient care. A majority of doctors (86 percent) agree that electronic health records will become integral to effective patient care in the next two years, reflecting the Government’s ambition to have a paperless NHS by 2018.

Patients Access to Records
An overwhelming 94 percent of doctors surveyed believe patients should have at least some access to their electronic health record, which is in sync with the Government’s March 2015 goal to provide everyone with access to their health records. However, most doctors in England believe there should be limits to the extent patients are able to access their health records. Only a third of doctors (34 percent) believe a patient should have full access to their own record, 60 percent believe patients should have limited access and six percent say they should have no access, compared to global averages of 24 percent, 61 percent and 14 percent respectively.

Out of all eight countries (Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States) included in the Accenture survey of 3,700 doctors, respondents in England have the highest level of support for full access.

The majority of doctors in England believe patients should be able to update some or all of the standard information in their health records, in line with the global average across all countries, including demographics (87 percent), family medical history (84 percent), medications (66 percent) and allergies (77 percent). Additionally, the majority of doctors believe patients should even be able to add such clinical updates to their records as new symptoms (71 percent) or self-measured metrics (78 percent), including blood pressure and glucose levels. These findings were consistent with global averages across all countries in the survey.

Perceptions of Electronic Health Records

Yet, despite their desire for patient participation in updating electronic health records, and the belief shared by nearly half of doctors (49 percent) surveyed that giving patients this access is critical to providing effective care, many electronic services are not available to patients, with only 11 percent of respondents surveyed citing that patients currently have online access to their medical information. The belief that access is critical to care is broadly consistent globally (41 percent) while online access to medical information is more prevalent in most other countries, rising to nearly a third in the US and Singapore (30 percent each) with a global average of 19 percent.

“Electronic health records are better for patients and better for medical staff. They help improve patient care quality and capture patient feedback, as recommended in the Francis Report,” said Jim Burke, managing director, who leads Accenture’s health business in the UK. “We believe the benefits outweigh the risks in allowing patients open access to their health records. There is a short term positive impact for the patient as real-time information becomes readily available to medical staff and, in the long term, such initiatives can save billions for an already stretched NHS, ultimately allowing for a more effective allocation of resources to meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population.”

Methodology

On behalf of Accenture, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 3,700 doctors across eight countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States. The survey included 500 doctors per country (200 from Singapore) and assessed their adoption, utilisation and attitudes towards healthcare IT. The research was conducted between November 2012 and December 2012.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com

Contact:

Nicholas Breakspeare

+44 (0)20 7844 1925