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Extent and utilisation of computerisation in Australian general practice.
Joan Henderson1, Helena Britt, Graeme Miller
1Family Medicine Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. joanh@med.usyd.edu.au
The Medical Journal of Australia
|July 18, 2006
Summary
Most Australian general practitioners (GPs) now have computers, but many are still hesitant to fully utilize them for clinical functions. This study highlights the gap between computer availability and adoption in general practice.
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Health Informatics
- Medical Technology Adoption
Background:
- The increasing integration of technology in healthcare necessitates understanding its adoption by primary care physicians.
- Previous studies indicated a growing presence of computers in general practices, but data on actual clinical use by individual general practitioners (GPs) was limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the availability of computers for Australian GPs.
- To determine the extent to which individual GPs utilize computers for various clinical functions.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of data from 1319 Australian GPs surveyed between November 2003 and March 2005 as part of the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program.
- Data collected included the availability of computers at the practice and the specific clinical functions for which GPs used them.
Main Results:
- 11.2% of GPs did not use a computer at their major practice address (6% lacked access, 5.2% chose not to use available computers).
- Among computer-using GPs, common uses included electronic prescribing (94.7%), test ordering (82.2%), and maintaining electronic patient records (79.5%).
- Only 32.8% of GPs kept all patient information electronically, and 21.7% used all available clinical functions on their computers.
Conclusions:
- Despite increased computer availability in general practices over the preceding decade, a significant portion of GPs remain reluctant to fully adopt these technologies for clinical purposes.
- There is a notable disparity between the physical availability of computers and their comprehensive utilization for enhancing patient care and practice efficiency.