Tablets More Useful Than Smartphones for Docs Using EHRs

Fifty-one percent of tablet users access EHRs, compared with 7 percent of smartphone users

WEDNESDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- Although tablets are less often used by physicians than smartphones, they are more frequently used for accessing electronic health records (EHRs), and time spent on tablets is much higher, according to two reports published by AmericanEHR Partners.

Researchers from AmericanEHR Partners surveyed nearly 1,400 physicians regarding smartphone and tablet usage.

According to the results, sending and receiving e-mails was the most common activity of physicians who used an EHR and a smartphone or tablet. Accessing EHRs was the second most frequent activity among tablet users (51 percent), whereas only 7 percent used smartphones to access EHRs. Seventy-five percent of physicians who had an EHR used a smartphone, and 33 percent used a tablet, but the time spent on tablets was 66 percent higher. Clinical app usage was 51 percent daily for smartphone users and only 30 percent daily for tablet users. The majority of physicians used smartphones to communicate with other physicians (about 75 percent) and to research medications (about 70 percent). Smaller medical practices reported using tablets to conduct a broader range of activities, including banking and communication with patients. Most EHR users were very or somewhat satisfied with their tablet device (about 33 and 44 percent, respectively).

"These two reports provide useful insights into how physicians use technology to interact with patients, physician satisfaction with mobile devices and apps, and the differences of technology use within various user demographics," Thomas Stringham, co-founder of AmericanEHR Partners, said in a statement.

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