Dive Brief:
- According to a new survey from MedData Group, a majority of physicians are interested in implementing or expanding mHealth technologies, but few think health systems can become fully connected in the near future, Healthcare IT News reports.
- The survey includes 532 physicians, and was conducted from December 2013 through March, asking doctors about their use of mobile health technologies, a MedData Group release reports.
- The survey concluded that while two-thirds of respondents used mHealth applications professionally, 57% argued that it would take the U.S. more than five years to become fully connected.
Dive Insight:
Physicians surveyed by MedData brought up a few common concerns that they felt were standing in the way of nationwide connectivity: data security, which they saw as the biggest barrier, and interoperability problems. Few IT experts would disagree with these conclusions, though arguably, they might see interoperability as job one. Regardless, the bottom line is that virtually all stakeholders in the health care industry must regretfully agree that pervasive connectivity is nowhere in the immediate future for the U.S.