More than 75% of Texas residents believe that increased use of electronic health records would improve the quality and efficiency of health care, according to survey released on Thursday, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The survey, commissioned by Dell, found that 43% of respondents said EHRs would lead to major improvement, while 33% of respondents predicted a minor improvement.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that in the past two to three years they have had to duplicate a test because their physician did not have access to the necessary records and 9% said they have received the wrong dosage or type of medication, according to the survey.
Dr. Peter Traber, president of Baylor College of Medicine, said survey respondents likely underestimated the number of duplicate medical tests and prescription errors because many patients are unaware when such instances occur.
The online survey of 1,040 adults in Texas was conducted by Zogby International between Dec. 8, 2006, and Dec. 11, 2006 (Ackerman, Houston Chronicle, 1/18).