Table 1.

Table 1. Theoretical and Practice-perceived Benefits of Electronic Records

Practice development: Developing and motivating practice staff, increasing job satisfaction
Theoretical Benefits ∗	Benefits Cited by Study Practices
∗ Benefits are those cited by the Royal College of General Practitioners in the Good Practice Guidelines for Electronic Medical Records. 13
Stimulates discussion
Supports practice development, appraisal, and continuous professional development
	Satisfaction—perception of doing the best job for the patient.
	Control—perception that necessary information is actually available at the time of patient encounter.
Motivates and encourages practice staff
Encourages the practice to work as a team—can be used as a communication tool	Staff communication cited as reason for adopting twice.

Practice operation: Improving practice operation and management capability
Theoretical Benefits ∗	Benefits Cited by Study Practices
Audit of better data gives a more accurate reflection of the care provided and feedback of the data will be more meaningful	Statistical reports can be discussed at staff meetings—but can be overwhelmed with data.
	Financial rewards mentioned very frequently—capturing billable items and pay for performance.
Gives confidence to move away from duplicate systems (e.g., paper and computer)
Support for the legal requirement to have an accurate historical record of care	Legibility of records and ability to locate records were emphasized many times. Documentation as protection against negligence claims.
Reduces duplication of work and increases efficiency within the practice	Most commonly cited benefit, specifically prescription management.
Gives supporting evidence when bidding for funds/services	“Physicians are competitive.” Shows physicians where their practices stand among similar practices.

Patient care: Improving patient care, particularly chronic disease care
Theoretical Benefits ∗	Benefits Cited by Study Practices
Supports the decision-making process and can offer automated decision support	Most practitioners were too busy to use these features when available, but did use timely, concise information resources.
Makes it easier to identify groups to target for particular interventions and packages of care (e.g., chronic disease register)	Better chronic disease care and more health promotion.
Helps to improve patient care, for the individual patient and for groups of patients	Reduces risk of errors. Reduces variation in chronic disease care.
Raises awareness of the needs of the practice population as a whole—allowing the practice to look at the needs of specific groups of patients as well as the individual	Better chronic disease care and more health promotion. Most practices routinely used these features. “Power of the computer to identify individuals needing intervention.”
Facilitates proactive (rather than reactive) work by practices