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Computers and connectivity in Illinois emergency departments
J A Handler1, M Gillam, E E Wang
1Division of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. jah505@nwu.edu
Summary
Most Illinois emergency departments (EDs) have computers, but only 17.6% offer Internet access, limiting emergency physicians' ability to use online resources during patient care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Health Services Research
- Emergency Medicine Technology
Background:
- The Internet's ubiquity contrasts with limited knowledge of physician access during clinical care.
- Physician access to the Internet is crucial for evidence-based practice in emergency departments (EDs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the extent of Internet connectivity within clinical areas of Illinois emergency departments (EDs).
Main Methods:
- A prospective observational study surveyed 199 Illinois EDs via telephone.
- Data collected included PC availability, operating systems, World Wide Web (Web) access, and connection speeds.
- Statistical analyses included chi-square, discriminant analysis, and nonlinear classification tree analysis.
Main Results:
- 99.5% of EDs responded; 50.5% had PCs, but only 17.6% had Web access.
- Web access, when available, was typically high-speed.
- Larger EDs in academic or tertiary care hospitals were more likely to have Web access.
Conclusions:
- Despite widespread PC availability, most emergency physicians lack Internet access at their practice site.
- This limited connectivity hinders the use of online resources for immediate clinical decision-making.
- Improving Internet access in EDs is essential for modern emergency care.