New Data Show Internet, Website and E-mail Usage by Physicians All Increasing

ROCHESTER, NY, FEBRUARY 26, 2001 – Latest Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL) health care research data show that the proportions of practicing physicians who are online from home, from their personal office areas and their clinical work areas are all increasing. Physicians’ staff is also using the Internet more often for both clinical and administrative work. Most physicians now go online on a daily basis, and two out of every five doctors work in practices that have websites, up from just over a quarter thirteen months earlier.

These are some of the findings of a new nationwide Harris Interactive survey of 834 physicians, Computing in the Physicians’ Practice, conducted between January 3 and February 7, 2001. The study found that well over half (55%) of all practicing physicians use e-mail to communicate with professional colleagues, and a third (34%) use e-mail to communicate with their support staff. However, only 13% of all doctors communicate with any of their patients via e-mail.

Trends 1999 – 2001

Internet, website and e-mail usage have all increased significantly, but not dramatically, since December 1999 when the previous Computing in the Physicians’ Practice survey was conducted:

• The proportion of all practicing physicians using the Internet has grown in the clinical work area (from 34% to 40%), in their personal offices (from 51% to 56%) and at home (from 83% to 87%).
• Only 7% of physicians are not online anywhere, compared to 11% in 1999.
• 42% of all physicians work in practices with websites, up from 29% in 1999.
• More doctors are communicating by e-mail with both professional colleagues (up from 51% to 55%) and support staff (up from 25% to 34%).
• Only 36% of physicians are not using e-mail to communicate with staff, colleagues, patients or third party payers, compared to 42% in 1999.

TABLE 1

PHYSICIAN USE OF INTERNET 1999 AND 2001

Privacy and Security Major Barriers to E-mail Usage

Only a few physicians are sending clinical information about individual patients via e-mail. However, this would rapidly increase if medical records’ privacy were guaranteed.

Only 6% of physicians regularly use e-mail to send clinical information about individual patients (such as consultations with colleagues or patients, or ordering prescriptions) and are not inhibited about concerns about privacy and security. Another small minority (8%) uses e-mail to send clinical information but "would do so even more if security and privacy were fully guaranteed."

Therefore, in total only one in seven doctors (14%) is using e-mail to send any patient-specific clinical information. Many more (39%) do not do so now but say they would do so "if the security and privacy of e-mails were guaranteed." However, even if security and privacy were non-issues, fully 40% of physicians say they would not send clinical information by e-mail.

So What?

The medical Internet revolution is still in its infancy. However, this technology will no doubt become widely used by physicians before very long, and it will likely change the way things are done in most

practices. As with other new technologies, the Internet is being used initially, if at all, to replace other, less efficient, methods of communications. Before long, however, it will surely be used to perform many other functions that were not previously possible or cost-effective using older technologies.

These new Harris Interactive data underline the relative importance of providing physicians, hospitals and diagnostic laboratories with secure e-mail systems which will protect the privacy of personal medical records. When such systems are widely available, one major barrier to the electronic transfer of clinical information will have been eliminated.

TABLE 2

REASONS FOR USE AND NON-USE OF E-MAIL FOR CLINICAL INFORMATION

Base: All physicians

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