Survey: Online healthcare services sought by patients, but few found
Most patients in the United States are keen to begin using online patient services to schedule appointments, electronically communicate with physicians, and other things, but generally most healthcare providers do not currently offer such Internet-based services, according to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive survey. The survey included more than 2,000 adults and was conducted last week, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the results:
  • A majority (77 percent) of patients would prefer to get reminders via e-mail regarding scheduled appointments and other things;
  • Nearly as many (75 percent) would make use of online scheduling;
  • Just slightly fewer (74 percent) would like to be able to e-mail their physicians, and quite a few (67 percent) like the idea of e-mailed test results;
  • Many patients (64 percent) would like to use an electronic health record
Yet in every instance, more than 70 percent of survey respondents indicated that they do not currently have access to such online tools.
Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup