European Doctors Taking Lead on Use of IT

General Practitioners in Scandinavia, Netherlands and UK are leading Europe in the use of IT at work, and in key areas such as use of electronic medical records European GPs has a significant lead over their US counterparts.

The findings come from the latest research by Harris Interactive on e-health. It reports that medical practices in Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and the UK are using IT more than most other European Countries. Overall, GPs in Finland and the Netherlands emerge as Europe’s e-health leaders.

Ninety-five percent or more of all primary care clinicians in Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom reported using IT in general practice. Overall, two-thirds of general practitioners across all fifteen countries in the European Union used IT.

The average for the EU was 80%. The lowest users were Greece (52%) and Portugal (37%).

The countries where the largest proportions of general practitioners are using electronic medical records are: Sweden (90%); the Netherlands (88%); Denmark (62%); and the UK (58%).

Only five percent of general practitioners in Portugal, nine percent in Spain and seventeen percent in Greece are using electronic medical records. The EU average is 29%.

Compared with the reported figures on use of electronic medical records in the US (which Harris puts at 17%), Europe scores extremely well with 55% or more of GPs in six EU states reporting their usage.

The survey also highlighted significant variations across Europe in the number of GPs who access the Internet or dedicated GP networks from their practice, which allow them to communicate with other physicians and, potentially, to access electronic medical records. The levels of usage in general practice are: Finland (100%); the Netherlands (100%); Sweden (93%); The UK (87%); and France (80%).

At the other end of the spectrum only 19% of general practitioners in Portugal and 27% in Greece are yet online. The EU average is 61%.

On the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in general practice, GPs in the Netherlands were also far ahead of the rest of Europe. The leading countries in Europe were: the Netherlands (31%); the UK (18%); Spain (17%); France (11%); and Germany (10%).

At the other end of the spectrum, virtually no general practitioners are using PDAs in Luxembourg or Italy. The EU average is 11%.

Huge variations were also found in the proportions of general practitioners who have websites for their practices, with UK GPs nearer the bottom of the table. The highest proportions of practices with dedicated websites were found in Finland (63%); the Netherlands (47%); Sweden (42%); and the UK at 27%. The average for all EU countries is 13%.

The Harris Interactive EuroBarometer survey was based on interviews with 3,504 general practitioners in the fifteen countries of the European Union.