The Digital Doctor is “In”
Accenture Eight-Country Survey of
Doctors Shows Significant Increase
in Healthcare IT Usage
An Accenture survey among 3,700
doctors in eight countries reveals that
today’s doctors are going digital—now
more than ever before. In fact, the recent
Accenture Doctors Survey showed a spike
in healthcare IT usage across all countries
surveyed (Australia, Canada, England,
France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and
the United States).
The Accenture survey compares findings
from last year’s survey to reveal prevailing
perceptions among doctors today, and
show trends across areas of healthcare IT.
Based on this year’s findings that show
increasing levels of adoption of EMR and
HIE, the digital doctor is in—and is here
to stay.
Going digital globally
Globally, the number of physicians
who describe themselves as “routinely”
accessing clinical data about patients
seen by different health organizations
has increased by 42 percent (rising from
33 percent of doctors surveyed in 2011,
to 47 percent in 2012).
Accessing clinical data about patients is
one of the simplest forms of information
exchange in healthcare, so this leap in
activity is promising as it illustrates that
doctors are embracing the benefits of
sharing and receiving information via HIE.
Another key indicator of the overall rise in
healthcare IT is the fact that 91 percent of
physicians surveyed report that they are
active users of electronic medical records
either in their own practice or hospital/
clinic. More than half of the doctors
surveyed (60 percent) report using an
EMR in their own medical practice. This
indicates that more and more doctors are
going paperless.
While globally, there is virtually no change
in the number of physicians reporting
they “routinely” receive clinical results
electronically that populate patients’
EMR, use varies by country. For example,
Singapore showed the largest increase
between 2011 and 2012 (40 percent), and
the US showed the second largest increase
(24 percent).
Terminology:
Healthcare IT is an umbrella term for the
exchange of health information in an
electronic environment, including health
information exchange, electronic medical
record and electronic health record.
Health information exchange (HIE) is the
mobilization of healthcare information
electronically across organizations within a
region, community or hospital system.
An electronic medical record (EMR) is
a computerized medical record created in
an organization that delivers care, such as a
hospital or doctor’s office, usually part of a
local standalone health information system
that allows storage, retrieval and modification
of records.
Electronic health record (EHR) is a systematic
collection of electronic health information
about individual patients or populations in
digital format and capable of being shared
across different healthcare settings.

2 | Accenture Doctors Survey
Figure 1: Digital doctors across all eight countries are routinely accessing clinical data about patients seen by
different health organizations.
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities?
[Function: I have electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by a different health organization (e.g., hospital, laboratory)]
0 100%
Use Routinely
Use Sometimes
Use Rarely
Interested in Using
Not Interested in Using
Australia
Canada
England
France
Germany
Global
Singapore
Spain
United States
7
7
3
10
16
8
5
3
4
28
26
22
37
28
24
24
10
24
6
6
6
5
7
6
7
5
8
17
17
15
14
10
15
15
13
19
42
44
54
34
39
47
49
69
45
2012
Routinely reaching for the
mouse
Today’s doctors are turning more often
to their PCs for clinical data. For
example, the global number of physicians
electronically entering patient notes
“routinely” has overall increased by 14
percent in the past year. The US showed
the largest increase in the number of
doctors electronically entering patient
notes either during or after consultations,
moving from 58 percent to 78 percent, a
year-on-year increase of 34 percent.
Globally, the number of digital doctors
who “routinely” e-Prescribe (electronically
send prescriptions to pharmacies)
increased by 17 percent, changing from
18 percent in 2011 to 21 percent in
2012. Singapore (36 percent), the US (33
percent) and Spain (32 percent) showed
the largest increases in e-Prescribing.
England and Canada showed no significant
change.
Certain countries also showed an increase
in sending order requests to laboratories.
Singapore had the highest increase at
75 percent, with the US following at 21
percent.
The Singapore Surge
It’s not surprising that Singapore showed
one of the largest increases in accessing
clinical data about patients seen by
different health organizations, moving
from 32 percent in 2011 to 49 percent
in 2012 (an overall jump of 53 percent),
as they are in process of implementing a
national electronic health record (NEHR)
system. The NEHR enables a single patient
health record for clinicians to access across
the healthcare continuum. As patients visit
providers—including primary care clinics,
acute and community hospitals—healthcare
professionals will be able to access a single
patient record for medical information.

Accenture Doctors Survey | 3
England
54%
36%
45%
21%
64%
29%
46%
24%
64% 60%
41% 54%
44% 46%
France Germany Singapore Spain
67%
57%
27%
18%
68%
36%
26%
16%
74%
57%
21%
17%
77%
59%
32%
18%
41%
38%
31%
27%
52%
57%
35%
26%
72%
65%
37%
29%
73%
47%
38%
36%
52% 37% 48% 50% 35% 49% 64% 63%
29% 34% 22% 39% 32% 49% 49% 69%
16% 9% 49% 31% 32% 56% 59% 61%
2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012Healthcare IT function
Australia Canada United States
Electronically enters patient
notes either during or after
consultations
Organization uses electronic
tools to reduce administrative
burden for delivering
healthcare
Receives electronic
alerts/reminders while seeing
patients
Uses computerized clinical
decision support systems to
help make diagnostic and
treatment decisions while
seeing patients
Receives clinical results
electronically that populate
patients’ EMR
Has electronic access to
clinical data about a patient
who has been seen by a
different health organization
Electronically sends order
requests to labs
56%
57%
40%
17%
64%
50%
44%
15%
36%
50%
17%
15%
44%
50%
19%
18%
58%
61%
34%
21%
78%
55%
45%
24%
62% 67% 36% 41% 50% 62%
26% 42% 31% 44% 34% 45%
22% 12% 18% 17% 47% 57%
35% 33% 19% 26% 11% 10% 26% 21% 47% 55%16% 15% 16% 17% 27% 32%
39% 31%
12% 12%
25% 29%
5% 6%
32% 24% 24% 17% 32% 29% 44% 30%
11% 7% 7% 4% 36% 49% 25% 33%
12% 15% 11% 11% 23% 19% 29% 32%
10% 9% 14% 13% 39% 19% 15% 12%
Electronically sends/receives
referrals to/from health
professionals in other
organizations
Communicates electronically
with clinicians in other
organizations
Electronically e-Prescribes
Electronically notified of
patients’ interactions with
other health organizations
Communicates electronically
with patients to support
remote consultation and
diagnostics
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
25% 13% 20% 16% 25% 23%
5% 6% 8% 8% 49% 65%
15% 20% 13% 12% 19% 19%
6% 5% 6% 6% 13% 13%
Figure 2. The global healthcare IT functionality landscape
Healthcare IT functions overall showed several increases among the eight countries surveyed.

4 | Accenture Doctors Survey
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities?
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities?
Function 2011 % “routine” use 2012 % “routine” use
1. Has electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has been seen by
a different healthcare organization
33% 47%
2. Electronically e-Prescribes 18% 21%
3. Received electronic alerts/reminders while seeing patients 31% 36%
4. Electronically enters patient notes either during or after consultations 58% 66%
5. Electronically notified of patients’ interactions with other healthcare
organizations
18% 20%
Function 2011 % “routine” use 2012 % “routine” use
1. Electronically enters patient notes either during or after consultations 58% 66%
2. Receives clinical results electronically that populate patient’s EMR 53% 54%
3. (due to tie) Organization uses electronic tools to reduce administrative
burden for delivering healthcare
54% 47%
4. (due to tie) Has electronic access to clinical data about a patient who has
been seen by a different healthcare organization
33% 47%
5. Received electronic alerts/reminders while seeing patients 31% 36%
Figure 3: On the rise: These functions represent the top five increases in routine use of healthcare IT
These routine uses of clinical data showed the greatest uptick between 2011 and 2012. Electronic access to clinical data about a
patient who has been seen by a different healthcare organization was the biggest jump of the year.
Figure 4: Part of the routine: Top five healthcare IT functions for today’s digital doctor
Digital doctors are routinely using these functions more than any others.

Accenture Doctors Survey | 5
Figure 5. Countries are showing increases in connected health maturity across both HIE and EMR.
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Connected Health Maturity Index: Total Doctors, 2011-2012
10 20 30 40 50 60
X Axis
EMR adoption and use (% routine users)
Y Axis
Healthinformationexchange(%routineusers)
10
20
30
40
50
60
Spain
US
US
Singapore
Singapore
England
Australia
Australia
England
France
France
Canada
Canada
Germany
Germany
2011 2012
Spain
Healthcare IT and health
information exchange (HIE) are
taking hold globally
It is encouraging to see that the rise of the
digital doctor is happening in the eight
countries surveyed. These countries have
matured in either their routine use of
HIE, adoption and use of healthcare IT—or
both—over the past year. Doctors in the
US and Singapore saw increases in both
adoption of healthcare IT and HIE from
2011 to 2012, and doctors in Spain and
the US showed the highest adoption of
healthcare IT and HIE for 2012.
The Accenture Doctors Survey also
examined the differences in maturity
between primary and secondary care
doctors. The findings showed an increase
in healthcare IT and HIE adoption among
both types of physicians, particularly in
the US, and also Singapore.
• Primary care: Primary care physicians
in the US, Canada and Singapore saw
increases in adoption of healthcare IT
and HIE from 2011 to 2012. In 2012,
Spain and England continue to have
high healthcare IT and HIE adoption
among primary care physicians.
• Secondary care: Among secondary care
physicians, adoption of healthcare IT
and HIE increased in Singapore, France
and the US from 2011 to 2012.

6 | Accenture Doctors Survey
Function % of “routine” use
1. Communicates electronically to support remote consultation and diagnostics 10%
2. Electronically notified of patients’ interactions with other health organizations 20%
3. Electronically e-Prescribes 21%
4. (due to tie) Communicates electronically with clinicians in other organizations 22%
5. (due to tie) Uses computerized clinical decision support systems to help make diagnostic and
treatment decisions while seeing patients
22%
Figure 6: Top five least-used functions
These healthcare IT areas represent the lowest percentages of routine use in 2012.
Do age and size of practice influence perceptions?
Although not surprising, doctors under 50 years of age are more likely to feel that the quality of patient care throughout the
healthcare system has improved due to the use of EMR. Findings related to size of practice did not reveal any major differences.
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Question: How frequently do you use/perform the following functions/activities?
Under 50
67%
Age 50+
52%
By age: By type of practice:
Single-specialty groupSolo practice
Multi-specialty group
58%
53%
68%
The digital disconnect
It is clear that doctors believe in the
benefits of healthcare IT, however, the
Accenture survey reveals they aren’t
routinely using technology to interact
with their patients or colleagues.
Globally, the percentage of doctors
surveyed who routinely communicate
electronically with patients was essentially
unchanged at 10 percent.
Across all countries surveyed, there
was also a decrease in the percentage
of doctors who routinely communicate
electronically with clinicians in other
organizations. The global percentage
decreased from 30 percent in 2011 to 22
percent in 2012.

Accenture Doctors Survey | 7
Figure 7: Top 10 functions where doctors globally perceive a positive impact
of EMR and HIE
Source: Accenture Doctors Survey
Question: To what extent is the use of electronic medical records and health information exchange (HIE) enabling the following benefits?
3% 27% 70%
2% 28% 69%
5% 31% 64%
5% 40% 55%
4% 44% 52%
21%3% 76%
24% 74%2%
24%2% 74%
24% 74%2%
5% 21% 74%
Reduction in medical errors
Improved coordination
of care across care
settings/service boundaries
Improved health outcomes
Increased speed of
access to health services
Reduced # of unnecessary
interventions/procedures
Improved patient access to
specialist health care services
Better access to quality
data for clinical research
Improved cross-organizational
working processes
Improved quality of
treatment decisions
Improved diagnostic decisions
Impacts positively No impact Impacts negatively
A good prognosis for EMR and HIE
Doctors across all eight countries believe
EMR and HIE enable benefits. The top
four areas where doctors surveyed see
the most positive impact are in reduction
of medical errors (76 percent globally, up
4 percent from last year), better access
to quality data for clinical research (74
percent), improved cross-organizational
working processes (74 percent) and
improved quality of treatment decisions
(74 percent). The areas where physicians
feel the use of EMR and HIE has had a
positive impact are primarily consistent
with 2011. See the top 10 functions where
doctors perceive a positive impact in
Figure 7 below.
The future of digital healthcare
The trend toward IT-enabled healthcare is
expected to continue, as doctors continue
to go digital. And as the adoption and
usage of EMR and HIE continues to
rise, there will be greater penetration
of electronic health records. According
to the Accenture survey, globally, eight
out of ten physicians agree that they are
committed to promoting electronic health
records in their clinical practices—because
they believe in it. Nearly three-quarters
(74 percent) of physicians surveyed agree
that electronic health records are integral
to effective patient care today and
globally, eight out of ten physicians agree
that electronic health records will become
integral to effective patient care in the
next two years.
Although the maturity levels of healthcare
IT adoption vary across the eight
countries surveyed, there is one common
denominator: doctors today believe in the
benefits of healthcare IT, and therefore
will continue to make it part of their
practice.

Accenture Doctors Survey | 8
Copyright © 2013 Accenture
All rights reserved.
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High Performance Delivered
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Methodology
On behalf of Accenture, Harris Interactive
conducted an online survey of 3,700
physicians across eight countries:
Australia, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United
States. The survey included 500 doctors
per country (200 from Singapore) and
assessed physicians’ adoption, utilization
and attitudes toward healthcare IT.
The research was conducted between
November 2012 and December 2012. The
analysis provided comparisons by country,
sector, age and use. The margin of error
for the eight study countries in total is +/-
1.5 percent.
For more information on the
survey findings, please contact:
Mark Knickrehm
Senior Managing Director,
Accenture Global Health Industry
Rick Ratliff
Managing Director,
Accenture Connected Health Services
richard.ratliff@accenture.com
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