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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: South Med J. 2016 Jul;109(7):419–426. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000466

Table 1.

Survey responses: system use, usability, functionality, and patient and clinical issues

Item no. Survey item No.
respondents		 Mean SD Comments
1 Have you ever used the CeHA
system?		 51 — — None
2 Please give at least two reasons for
why you have not used CeHA.
Please check or write in as many
reasons as you would like.		 3 — —

  1. “Retired from clinical practice”

  2. “All of the above”

  3. “No username or login set up”
3 Despite the potential usefulness of
CeHA, clinician adoption is a barrier
to sustaining it. Please let us know
two things we could do to make it
more likely that you will use CeHA
in the future. Please check or write in
as many reasons as you would like.		 2 — — None
Usability constructs
4 I would like to access CeHA for
every patient I see.		 48 74.7 21.8

  1. “Some minor complaints is not necessary. Same for patients new to area.”

  2. “Not every patient but one with complicated history/physical examination, multiple visits, pain/medication requests.”

  3. “Only if it was autoaccessed; not having to take the time to look up every patient.”

  4. “If it has useful information.”

  5. “It should be integrated into Epic so I don’t have to go out and search.”

  6. “No need for low- acuity patients.”
6 I thought CeHA was easy to use. 47 71.9 22.2

  1. “Yes and no”

  2. “It would be nice if we could login on the top of Epica like for OACIS; frequently have to go to multiple computers to find a CeHA link that’s functional.”

  3. “Another log in code!”

  4. “When CeHa access works, it is easy to use.”
7 I found CeHA cumbersome to use.b 48 38.0 24.3

  1. “At first it was; it is better now.”

  2. See above.

  3. “Login code needs to be streamlined.”
8 I found the information from the
various hospital systems in CeHA to
be well integrated.		 48 57.6 23.4

  1. “Depends on hospital; some hospitals have been sketchy, but getting better.”

  2. “Some hospitals are lacking in ED notes, while others are lacking in d/cA summaries.”

  3. “Need better and more data sharing.”

  4. “Sometimes it seems sparse for a recent visit. Would be great to get other hospitals on it.”
9 I felt very confident using CeHA. 47 75.3 17.5 None
10 I felt very confident using the
information I found in CeHA.		 48 83.4 14.3 None
11 I needed to learn a lot of things
before I could get going with
CeHA.b 		47 19.9 14.5 None
14 I often found the information in
CeHA to be incomplete and to be
missing important data.b 		47 51.7 21.3

  1. “Sometimes.”

  2. “Never can get the ED physicians’ actual chart from the hospital.”

  3. “Some of the newer tests might be missing.”

  4. “It is improving, but at times different findings in ED records.”

  5. “Often a visit was so proximate to my visit with a patient, the information from outlying hospital hasn’t been loaded.”
24 The information I get from CeHA
usually makes the time it takes to log
on and look worth the effort.		 48 75.8 20.0 None
Functionality constructs
5 If CeHA provided good information
and was easy to use, I would use it
for every patient I see.		 48 79.8 21.5

  1. “Not needed for every patient.”

  2. “Would use for anyone who had history of recent admittance/ED evaluation at another hospital.”

  3. “Not every but ones where I am trying to avoid repetitive testing.”

  4. “Record of CeHA use could be built into Epic as a check box, again as a reminder.”
12 Information about my patients was
present most of the time when I
queried CeHA.		 48 59.5 21.8

  1. “If patients had been to the other facilities.”
13 I found the information I was
looking for when I used CeHA.		 47 64.2 19.5

  1. “Great in patients who not only hospital shop but also receive treatment at one hospital and then present to one of the others in town for further treatment or complications.”
15 The charts from recent visits to other
EDs were usually available to me in
CeHA.		 48 57.6 23.4

  1. “Usually only get the radiology and laboratory values; never get EKG.”

  2. See above.

  3. “Charts from hospital usually are only discharge instructions; charts from hospital are generally not available.”

  4. “If the patient had visited the other EDs.”
16 Recent discharge summaries from
other hospitals were usually
available to me in CeHA.		 48 59.1 23.1

  1. “Not as reliable as ED charts.”

  2. “If hospitalization had occurred.”
17 The information about my patient in
CeHA was usually sufficient to be
useful clinically.		 47 71.3 16.6 None
20 I believe CeHA is a very valuable
addition to my practice and improves
my efficiency.		 47 84.1 14.2 None
21 I believe CeHA improves the quality
of the care I deliver.		 47 83.5 14.0

  1. “When information needed and available.”

  2. “Without any doubt.”
23 I would prefer CeHA to be
embedded in the electronic medical
record at our hospital.		 48 90.8 10.6

  1. “This would be a huge help!”

  2. “Single sign on.”
Patient and clinical issues
18 I used CeHA more often when I
anticipated there would be
information available on my patient.		 47 86.2 15.3 None
19 I am more likely to use CeHA for
diagnoses that are more complex.		 47 78.6 17.5

  1. “Lots of crossover patients from hospital.”
22 I am more likely to use CeHA if I
believe a patient is seeking narcotics
for inappropriate reasons.		 48 74.3 23.6

  1. “Very helpful.”

  2. “More likely to check DHEC site.”
A

Pls define d/c.

CeHA, Carolina eHealth Alliance health information exchange; DHEC, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control; ED, emergency department; EKG, electrocardiogram; OACIS, Online Application and Classification Information System.

a

Epic Systems, Verona, Wisconsin.

b

A lower score that signifies an agreement with the statement. All hospital names were removed from all of the comments.