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. 2016 Sep;87(3):571-84.
doi: 10.1007/s11126-015-9410-2.

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

Farifteh F Duffy  1 , Laura J Fochtmann  2 , Diana E Clarke  3   4 , Keila Barber  3 , Seung-Hee Hong  5 , Joel Yager  6 , Eve K Mościcki  3 , Robert M Plovnick  7
Affiliations

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

Farifteh F Duffy et al. Psychiatr Q. 2016 Sep.

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.

Keywords: Clinical practice; Computer use; EHR; Health care technology; Psychiatry.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards

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.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Psychiatrists’ comfort with using computers for various functions by age (N = 152)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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