EHRs: Good idea, even though I don't use one

Almost 50 percent of physicians think EHRs could play a positive role in healthcare reform, according to a recent survey by Jackson & Coker, a physician recruiting firm.

Jackson & Coker polled its database of clients, overwhelmingly physicians, to learn their views on the healthcare platforms of the three presidential candidates. Of nearly 1,000 who responded, 30 percent believe that Sen. John McCain would do the most to improve the nation’s healthcare system. Twenty-eight percent and 24 percent lined up behind Senators Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, respectively.

Only 38 percent hold that a universal healthcare system would benefit the United States, with 46 percent favoring the current system, provided that significant improvements are enacted. However, if universal healthcare came to pass, 46 percent of respondents believe that EHRs could help streamline healthcare delivery.

Last year, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 12.4 percent of office-based physicians in 2006 used the sort of comprehensive EHR software that the federal government favors in its plans to build a national health information network. Another 17 percent use less robust programs.