Annual Xerox EHR Survey: Americans Open to Viewing Test Results, Handling Healthcare Online
December 16 2014 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
Online portals can help providers better engage with Millennials
and Baby Boomers
In its annual survey on the usage of electronic health records,
Xerox (NYSE:XRX) found many Americans are open to getting medical
records online if given instruction on how to obtain access by
their medical providers.
The survey was conducted online in September by Harris Poll
among 2,017 U.S. adults and found a majority of Americans (64
percent) do not currently use online patient portals, but more than
half of those who don’t use portals (57 percent) say they would be
much more interested and proactive in their personal healthcare if
they had online access to their medical records.
While security remains a concern, the survey found many are
simply unaware of patient portals. Among those who do not use
patient portals, 35 percent did not know a portal was available and
31 percent said their physician had never spoken to them about
portals. Among Americans who do use online patient portals, 59
percent say they have been much more interested and proactive in
their personal healthcare since they received access.
“With providers facing regulatory changes, mounting costs, and
patients who increasingly seek access to more information, our
survey points to an opportunity to address issues by simply opening
dialogue with patients about patient portals,” said Tamara St.
Claire, chief innovation officer, Commercial Healthcare for Xerox.
“Educating patients will empower them to participate more fully in
their own care while helping providers demonstrate that electronic
health records are being used in a meaningful way.”
Based on requirements set out by the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, providers can earn Meaningful Use (MU) Stage 2
federal incentives if they demonstrate that five percent of
patients are using secure portals to view, download and transmit
their health information. Although less than 720 hospitals have met
MU Stage 2 requirements1 so far, the survey shows an appetite among
Americans to use the portals.
Survey results suggest that healthcare providers could make
strides toward meeting MU Stage 2 requirements and improving care
by focusing on the portal needs of Millennials (ages 18 to 34 in
this survey) and Baby Boomers (ages 55+ in this survey). Here’s
how:
Millennials:
- A mobile generation, Millennials are
more likely to report the highest preference in accessing patient
portals on the go (43 percent on smartphones).
- Millennials are more interested in
their medical records (57 percent) than any other content on online
patient portals.
- They also want to be able to view
personalized recommendations to improve their health (44 percent),
information about additional services from their doctor (44
percent), and industry news about health topics of interest to them
(23 percent).
Baby Boomers:
- Two of every three older Americans have
multiple chronic conditions, and treatment for this population
accounts for 66 percent of the country’s healthcare budget.2 With a
rising need for care, Boomers are ripe for provider
engagement.
- Many Boomers who do not use portals say
they would be much more engaged in their care if they received
access to medical information online (56 percent of those ages 55
to 64, and 46 percent of those ages 65 or older).
- Boomers ages 55 to 64 accounted for the
highest percentage (83 percent) of Americans who say they already
do or would communicate with healthcare providers via a patient
portal.
- In that same group, 70 percent say they
do or would schedule appointments; 64 percent access/review medical
records/test results; 60 percent ask their physicians questions; 58
percent order prescription refills, and 40 percent request a
referral.
(Click to Tweet)
“Guiding different generations to take advantage of the
information available at their fingertips can play a key role in
preventing chronic diseases and reducing the cost of care,” St.
Claire said. “Xerox is realizing the promise of portals by
assisting healthcare providers in developing and implementing
patient-engagement programs that can be incorporated into their
regular care delivery.”
With more than 40 years of experience serving the healthcare
industry, Xerox supports more than 1,900 hospitals through a
variety of technology solutions and business process outsourcing
services, including Meaningful Use assessments and strategic
planning.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by
Harris Poll on behalf of Xerox from Sept. 2 to Sept. 4, 2014, among
2,017 adults ages 18 and older (among which 1,250 do not use online
patient portals and 767 do use online patient portals). This online
survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no
estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For
complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please
see below for media contacts.
About Xerox
Xerox is a global business services, technology and
document management company helping
organizations transform the way they manage their
business processes and information. Headquartered in Norwalk,
Conn., we have more than 140,000 Xerox employees and do business in
more than 180 countries. Together, we provide
business process services, printing equipment, hardware
and software technology for managing information -- from data
to documents. Learn more at www.xerox.com.
Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit
http://news.xerox.com/rss. For open commentary, industry
perspectives and views visit http://www.linkedin.com/company/xerox,
http://twitter.com/xeroxcorp, http://simplifywork.blogs.xerox.com,
http://www.facebook.com/XeroxCorp,
http://www.youtube.com/XeroxCorp.
Xerox® and Xerox and Design® are trademarks of Xerox in the
United States and/or other countries.
1 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare
& Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. November 4, 2014. 2
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The State of Aging & Health in America 2013. July
9, 2013.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141216005105/en/
Media:XeroxErin Isselmann,
+1-503-819-6825erin.isselmann@xerox.comorText 100 for XeroxSamantha
Pierce, +1-585-697-2606Samantha.pierce@text100.com
Xerox (NYSE:XRX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Xerox (NYSE:XRX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024