U.S. Adults Not Very Confident that Physicians Have the Complete Picture, According to a New WSJ.com/Harris Interactive Survey

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – December 5, 2007 – A new Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Healthcare Poll finds that only one-third (33%) of U.S. adults are very confident in their physicians and other healthcare providers having a complete and accurate picture of their medical history. However, this confidence increases to half (50%) for those who have an electronic medical record. About one-fourth (26%) of adults say they use some form of electronic medical record, mainly one kept by their physician.

These are just some of the results of an online survey of 2,153 U.S. adults ages 18 and over conducted by Harris Interactive® between November 12 and 14, 2007 for The Wall Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition (www.wsj.com/health).

Katherine Binns, Division President for Healthcare Research at Harris Interactive, comments, "There has been more and more talk lately about electronic medical records – from inclusion in Presidential frontrunners’ healthcare reform plans to Microsoft announcing a consumer website to store and share health information. Insurance companies and employers are also jumping on this bandwagon. It is estimated that each year billions of dollars are spent on redundant tests, and that many otherwise avoidable injuries are caused by medical reporting errors. And it is assumed that much of this could be eliminated with online health systems that communicate with each other."

One key concept is that patients would have control over an Internet-based medical record and they would decide with whom and when to share that information. But, as when banking or shopping first went online, there have been issues of privacy concerns regarding healthcare data as well. As things become more common though, these concerns tend to wane, evidenced by a 10-point drop this year (from 61% in 2006 to 51%) in those who say electronic records make it difficult to ensure privacy. When it comes to other online medical services, three-fourths of adults feel that patients should be able to schedule an appointment with their physician via email or the Internet (77%) and communicate with their physician via email (75%). These online applications are big first steps in overcoming privacy concerns.

More adults (60%) feel that the benefits outweigh the privacy risks than those who do not (40%). Majorities agree that electronic medical records could reduce healthcare costs (55%), decrease medical errors (63%), and reduce redundant tests (67%) – similar to 2006 results. Even more (74%) believe that patients could receive better care if doctors and researchers were able to share information more easily. However, about one-quarter of adults are just not sure that electronic medical records could provide any of these benefits, indicating a need for continued talk about this matter.　

"How confident are you that when you go to see a doctor/health care professional, he or she always has an accurate and complete picture of your prior medical history?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

* Less Than 0.5%　

"Some people use or have access to an electronic medical record to capture and store personal medical information. Which statement best describes the type of electronic medical record that you use?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"How strongly do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

Harris Interactive^® conducted this online survey within the United States between November 12 and 14, 2007 among a national cross section of 2,153 adults ages 18 years and over. Figures for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income and region were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.