Table 2.
General paper characteristics.
| Author (year) |
Country | Survey/study objective(s) | Respondents | Clinical context (ie, setting) |
Survey method | Total sample |
Response rate |
| Chiang et al (2008) [21] | United States | Assess the state of EHRa use by ophthalmologists, including adoption rate and user satisfaction | Ophthalmologists | Medical practices | Web-based survey (with 2 email reminders) and telephone survey | 3796 | 15.6% (592) |
| DesRoches et al (2008) [22] | United States | Assess (1) physicians’ adoption of outpatient EHRs, (2) satisfaction with such systems, (3) perceived effect of the systems on the quality of care, (4) perceived barriers to adoption | Physicians | Physicians providing direct ambulatory patient care | Mailed questionnaire (2 reminders by mail and phone); cash incentive | 5000 (4484 eligible) | 62% (2758) |
| Devine et al (2010) [23] | United States | Identify prescriber and staff (end user) characteristics that would predict attitudes and behaviors toward e-prescribing adoption in the context of a preexisting EHR | Prescribers (physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners) and staff (nurses and medical assistants) | 3 primary care sites | Administered at the sites with 2 reminders sent via email | Total of 188 opportunities | Overall: 62% (117); prescribers: 82%; staff: 50% |
| El-Kareh et al (2009) [24] | United States | Measure changes in primary care clinician attitudes toward an EMRb during the first year following implementation | Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants | Ambulatory health centers | Mailed questionnaire at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postimplementation (2 mailings and reminder emails) | 73 physicians; 10 nurse practitioners; 3 physician assistants | Month 1: 92% (79); month 2: 95% (81); month 3: 90% (76); month 12: 82% (69)c |
| Gans et al (2005) [25] | United States | Assess the rate and process of adoption of information technology and EHRs by medical group practices | Group practices | Group practices with 3 or more physicians practicing together with a common billing and medical record system | Web-based and mailed survey; a subset of nonresponders were surveyed by phone | 17,195 | 21.1% (3628) |
| Johnston et al (2002) [26] | China | Identify prevailing attitudes among physicians to use of computers in the clinical setting and specifically those attitudes that may be associated with the adoption of computers in practice | Physicians | Individual practices | Mailed questionnaire | 4850 | 18.5% (897) |
| Kemper et al (2006) [27] | United States | (1) Measure penetration and functionality of EMRs in primary care pediatric practice, (2) identify plans for adoption of EMRs, (3) understand common barriers to adoption, (4) evaluate attitudes toward EMRs among those with and without one | Pediatricians | Office-based practice | Separate mailed questionnaires to those with and without an EMR (3 mailings); cash incentive | 1000 (901 eligible) | 58% (526) |
| Leung et al (2003) [28] | China | Understand the contributory barriers and potential incentives associated with information technology implementation | Physicians | General physician population (individual and corporate settings) | Mailed survey (3 mailings and maximum of 7 phone calls) | 949 | 77% (731) |
| Loomis et al (2002) [29] | United States | Investigate possible differences in attitudes and beliefs about EMRs between EMR users (early market) and nonusers (mainstream market) | Family physicians | Active members in the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians | Mailed survey (2 mailings) | 1398 | 51.7% (618 usable) |
| MacGregor et al (2006) [30] | Australia | (1) Examine perception of benefits derived from information technology adoption, (2) determine whether practice size, number of patients treated, gender of practitioner, or level of computer skills of the practitioner are associated with the perception of benefits | General practitioners | General practice | Mailed questionnaire | 690 | 17.7% (122) |
| Mackenzie (2006) [31] | New Zealand | Nurses’ and doctors’ perceptions of the introduction and subsequent use of the Medtech 32 clinical module | Nurses, doctors | Family planning clinics | Paper questionnaire | 132 | 57% (47 nurses and 28 doctors) |
| Magnus et al (2002) [32] | England | (1) Assess general practitioners’ views on the relevance of information provided by computerized drug interaction alert systems, (2) determine the proportion of general practitioners who admit to frequently overriding alerts without properly checking them, (3) explore factors that might be associated with a tendency to override alerts | General practitioners | Primary care trust areas | Mailed questionnaire (2 mailings) | 336 | 70% (236) |
| Menachemi et al (2007) [33] | United States | 1. Examine rural–urban differences in the use of various information technology applications by physicians in the ambulatory setting | Physicians (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology) | Ambulatory settings | Mailed questionnaire (2 mailings) | 14,921 | 28.2% (4203) |
| Russell and Spooner (2004) [34] | United States | (1) Determine the use of EMRs in area practices, (2) identify physicians’ attitudes adopting EMRs, particularly differences in attitudes between users and nonusers and between internal medicine and pediatric clinicians | Physicians (internal medicine and pediatrics) | Medical outpatient practices of internal medicine and pediatrics | Faxed and mailed survey (3 faxes and mailing); cash incentive | 51 internal medicine, 24 pediatrics | Internal medicine: 51% (26); pediatrics: 63% (15) |
| Simon et al (2007) [35] | United States | (1) Determine the degree to which physicians used the various functions available in their EHR systems, (2) identify factors that correlate with use | Physicians | Office-based practice | Mailed survey (3 mailings with phone calls in between); cash incentive | 1921 (1884 eligible) | 71.4% (1345) |
| Simon et al (2008) [36] | United States | (1) Assess the degree to which the MAeHCd practices are representative of physician’ practices statewide, (2) assess practice characteristics related to EHR adoption, prevailing office culture related to quality and safety, attitudes toward HITe, and perceptions of medical practice | Physicians | Physician office practices | Mailed survey with multiple reminders | MAeHC: 464; statewide: 1884 | MAeHC: 77% (355); statewide: 71.4% (1345)f |
| Simon et al (2008) [37] | United States | (1) Determine the state of EHR adoption and the degree to which doctors with EHRs are using the functionalities of those systems, (2) assess whether practices that had not yet adopted EHRs planned to adopt such systems and when, and what barriers impeded their progress | Office practice managers | Active medical and surgical practices (hospital and non-hospital based) | Mailed questionnaire (2 mailings and 2–6 phone calls) | 1829 | 46% (847) |
| Singh et al (2012) [38] | United States | (1) Examine HIT and EMR adoption and use among primary care offices across the rural–urban spectrum, (2) assess perceived benefits and perceived barriers and facilitators to adoption | Offices (targeted office medical directors or owners) | Primary care offices | Mailed survey (reminder and second mailing); cash incentive | 4669 | 21.4% (1001) |
| Terry (2005) [39] | United States | Determine EHR penetration, satisfaction, and use | Medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine (including family practitioners, general practitioners, internists, obstetricians and gynecologists) | Office-based practice | Mailed survey | 10,000 | Not reported |
a Electronic health record (term used in the paper).
b Electronic medical record.
c Only included month 12 data in analysis.
d Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative.
e Health information technology.
f Only included Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative data in analysis, as statewide data are reported in Simon et al [35].