Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychiatrists’ Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Psychiatric Quarterly Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This report highlights findings from the Study of Psychiatrists’ Use of Informational Resources in Clinical Practice, a cross-sectional Web- and paper-based survey that examined psychiatrists’ comfort using computers and other electronic devices in clinical practice. One-thousand psychiatrists were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and asked to complete the survey between May and August, 2012. A total of 152 eligible psychiatrists completed the questionnaire (response rate 22.2 %). The majority of psychiatrists reported comfort using computers for educational and personal purposes. However, 26 % of psychiatrists reported not using or not being comfortable using computers for clinical functions. Psychiatrists under age 50 were more likely to report comfort using computers for all purposes than their older counterparts. Clinical tasks for which computers were reportedly used comfortably, specifically by psychiatrists younger than 50, included documenting clinical encounters, prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, accessing read-only patient information (e.g., test results), conducting internet searches for general clinical information, accessing online patient educational materials, and communicating with patients or other clinicians. Psychiatrists generally reported comfort using computers for personal and educational purposes. However, use of computers in clinical care was less common, particularly among psychiatrists 50 and older. Information and educational resources need to be available in a variety of accessible, user-friendly, computer and non-computer-based formats, to support use across all ages. Moreover, ongoing training and technical assistance with use of electronic and mobile device technologies in clinical practice is needed. Research on barriers to clinical use of computers is warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Davies K, Harrison J: The information-seeking behaviour of doctors: A review of the evidence. Health Information and Libraries Journal 24(2):78–94, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hsiao CJ, Hing E: Use and characteristics of electronic health record systems among office-based physician practices: United States, 2001-2013. NCHS Data Brief 143:1–8, 2014.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Patel V1, Jamoom E, Hsiao CJ, et al.: Variation in electronic health record adoption and readiness for meaningful use: 2008-2011. Journal of General Internal Medicine 28(7):957–964, 2013.

  4. Decker SL, Jamoom EW, Sisk JE: Physicians in nonprimary care and small practices and those age 55 and older lag in adopting electronic healthrecord systems. Health Affairs (Millwood) 31(5):1108–1114, 2012.

  5. DesRoches CM, Campbell EG, Rao SR, et al.: Electronic health records in ambulatory care—a national survey of physicians. New England Journal of Medicine 359(1):50–60, 2008.

  6. Grinspan ZM, Banerjee S, Kaushal R, et al.: Physician specialty and variations in adoption of electronic health records. Applied Clinical Informatics 22;4(2):225–240, 2013.

  7. Kokkonen EW, Davis SA, Lin HC, et al.: Use of electronic medical records differs by specialty and office settings. Journal of American Medical Informatics Association 20(e1):e33–e38, 2013.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Li C: Use of health information technology by office-based physicians: Comparison of two contemporaneous public-use physician surveys. Perspectives in Health Information Management 8:1f, 2011.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Mojtabai R: Datapoints: Use of information technology by psychiatrists and other medical providers. Psychiatric Services 58(10):1261, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Sturm R: Datapoints: The role of computer use in different medical specialties. Psychiatric Services 52(4):443, 2001.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Crossing the Quality Chasm: Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions: Quality Chasm Series. Washington (DC), National Academies Press (US), 2006. Summary. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19817/.

  12. McGregor B, Mack D, Wrenn G, et al.: Improving service coordination and reducing mental health disparities through adoption of electronic health records. Psychiatric Services 66(9):985–987, 2015.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Rosen DC, Nakash O, Alegría M: The impact of computer use on therapeutic alliance and continuance in care during the mental health intake. Psychotherapy, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000022.

  14. Das AK: Computers in psychiatry: A review of past programs and an analysis of historical trends. Psychiatric Quarterly 73(4):351–365, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Allen M, Currie LM, Graham M, et al.: The classification of clinicians’ information needs while using a clinical information system. In: AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, pp. 26–30, 2003.

  16. Brouwers M, Kho ME, Browman GP, et al.: AGREE II: Advancing guideline development, reporting and evaluation in healthcare. Canadian Medical Association Journal 182(18):E839–E842, 2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Collins SA, Currie LM, Bakken S, et al.: Information needs, Infobutton Manager use, and satisfaction by clinician type: A case study. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 16(1):140–142, 2009.

  18. Currie LM, Graham M, Allen M, et al.: Clinical information needs in context: An observational study of clinicians while using a clinical information system. In: AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, pp. 190–194, 2003.

  19. Dawes M, Sampson U: Knowledge management in clinical practice: A systematic review of information seeking behavior in physicians. International Journal of Medical Informatics 71(1):9–15, 2003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Ely JW, Osheroff JA, Ebell MH, et al.: Analysis of questions asked by family physicians regarding patient care. Western Journal of Medicine 172(5):315–319, 2000.

  21. Ely JW, Osheroff JA, Ebell MH, et al.: Obstacles to answering doctors’ questions about patient care with evidence: Qualitative study. BMJ 324(7339):710, 2002.

  22. Ely JW, Osheroff JA, Maviglia SM, et al.: Patient-care questions that physicians are unable to answer. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 14(4):407–414, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Gonzalez-Gonzalez AI, Dawes M, Sanchez-Mateos J, et al.: Information needs and information-seeking behavior of primary care physicians. Annals of Family Medicine 5(4):345–352, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Graber MA, Randles BD, Ely JW, et al.: Answering clinical questions in the ED. American Journal of Emergency Medicine 26(2):144–147, 2008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Graber MA, Randles BD, Monahan J, et al.: What questions about patient care do physicians have during and after patient contact in the ED? The taxonomy of gaps in physician knowledge. Emergency Medicine Journal 24(10):703–706, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Hersh WR, Crabtree MK, Hickam DH, et al.: Factors associated with successful answering of clinical questions using an information retrieval system. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 88(4): 323–331, 2000.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Meats E, Brassey J, Heneghan C, et al.: Using the Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP) database: How do clinicians really search? Journal of Medical Library Association 95(2):156–163, 2007.

  28. Norlin C, Sharp AL, Firth SD: Unanswered questions prompted during pediatric primary care visits. Ambulatory Pediatrics 7(5):396–400, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Smith R: What clinical information do doctors need? BMJ 313(7064):1062–1068, 1996.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. http://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2015/disconnect-between-doctors-and-patients-on-use-of-email-and-facebook.html.

  31. https://www.uchealth.org/Pages/Access-My-Health-Connection.aspx.

  32. https://mychart.hopkinsmedicine.org/MyChart/.

  33. Raglan GB, Margolis B, Paulus RA, et al.: Electronic health record adoption among obstetrician/gynecologists in the United States: Physician practices and satisfaction. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 2015.

  34. Jamoom E, Beatty P, Bercovitz A, et al.: Physician adoption of electronic health record systems: United States, 2011. NCHS Data Brief (98):1–8, 2012.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. McGinn CA, Grenier S, Duplantie J, et al.: Comparison of user groups’ perspectives of barriers and facilitators to implementing electronic health records: A systematic review. BMC Medicine 9:46, 2011.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Rao SR, Desroches CM, Donelan K, et al.: Electronic health records in small physician practices: availability, use, and perceived benefits. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 18(3):271–275, 2011.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Adler-Milstein J, DesRoches CM, Furukawa MF, et al.: More than half of US hospitals have at least a basic EHR, but stage 2 criteria remain challenging for most. Health Affairs (Millwood) 33(9):1664–1671, 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Hsiao CJ, Hing E, Ashman J: Trends in electronic health record system use among office-based physicians: United States, 2007-2012. National Health Statistics Reports 75:1–18, 2014.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. CMS Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, Electronic Health Record Products Used for Attestation. http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/mu_report.xlsx. Accessed October 22, 2015.

  40. Boccuti C, Swoope C, Damico A, et al.: Medicare patients’ access to physicians: A synthesis of the evidence. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013. http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-patients-access-to-physicians-a-synthesis-of-the-evidence/.

  41. Hogan SO, Kissam SM: Measuring meaningful use. Health Affairs (Millwood) 29(4):601–606, 2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ryan AM, Bishop TF, Shih S, et al.: Small physician practices in new york needed sustained help to realize gains in quality from use of electronic health records. Health Affairs (Millwood) 32(1):53–62, 2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Pincus HA, Page AE, Druss B, et al.: Can psychiatry cross the quality chasm? Improving the quality of health care for mental and substance use conditions. American Journal of Psychiatry 164(5):712–719, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was generously supported by the National Library of Medicine Grant #G08 LM010710.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Practice Research Network, American Psychiatric Association Foundation, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1825, Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

    Farifteh F. Duffy, Diana E. Clarke, Keila Barber & Eve K. Mościcki

  2. Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Laura J. Fochtmann

  3. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Diana E. Clarke

  4. Quality Improvement and Psychiatric Services, American Psychiatric Association, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

    Seung-Hee Hong

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Joel Yager

  6. Quality Improvement Programs Department, American Society of Hematology, 2021 L Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20036, USA

    Robert M. Plovnick

Authors
  1. Farifteh F. Duffy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laura J. Fochtmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Diana E. Clarke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Keila Barber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Seung-Hee Hong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Joel Yager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Eve K. Mościcki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Robert M. Plovnick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farifteh F. Duffy.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Since 2013, Dr. Duffy has received funding for projects not related to this study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as well as the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, through a funding coalition of industry supporters that included Forest Laboratories and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Duffy, F.F., Fochtmann, L.J., Clarke, D.E. et al. Psychiatrists’ Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice. Psychiatr Q 87, 571–584 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9410-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9410-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation