A SURVEY OF OFFICE COMPUTING IN MEDICAL PRACTICES

A survey of computer use for administrative functions in private medic al practices showed that the use of computers for practice management is increasing: almost 75% of the practices responding used office comp uters. Satisfaction with the systems was limited, however, and the mor e frequent users (administrative staff members) were less satisfied th an the less frequent users (physicians). Satisfaction with a computing system was directly related to its usefulness and its compatibility w ith existing work practices. Office systems continue to be used most f or financial tasks, such as billing and insurance filing. A desired an d necessary change would be an improved ability for clinical record ke eping. Physicians' notes were transcribed in more than half the practi ces surveyed; if systems were designed with physician-friendly interfa ces for record keeping, the costs associated with transcription could be cut.