Physician computer skills: a prerequisite to the future in healthcare services

Physicians in Kentucky have been slow to endorse and implement electronic medical records and other forms of information technology (IT), although this technology is available to them. Information was ob tained from medical relicensure data for all licensed Kentucky physicians and through two sample surveys to assess the use of IT in Kentucky medicine. Sixty-eight percent of licensed physicians recorded an e-mail address on their annual relicensure application, but more physicians were knowledgeable about IT than indicated by this relicensure response. A recorded e-mail address was more likely for younger physicians, physicians in hospital-based specialties, and those in larger medical specialty or academic physician groups. Those entering an email address were more likely to use IT for e-mail, word-processing, searching medical literature, and even consulting with other physicians. Only 10% of physicians with an e-mail address and 4.5% ofj those who did not list an e-mail address used e-mail to communicate with patients. Physicians entering an e-mail address were also more likely to employ an electronic medical record in their practice. Increased use of IT in medical practices is likely only if it can be associated with an increase in reimbursement or an improvement in quality of care.