Healthcare leaders working for provider organizations and medical societies see AI as the best emerging technology for reducing risk. Meanwhile they see online media as the riskiest technology.
The type of risk at the top of their minds may be the legal variety, as the survey behind the findings was commissioned by The Doctors Company, one of the largest physician-owned suppliers of medical malpractice insurance in the U.S.
The company released the results, drawn from responses submitted by leaders of 47 organizations, this week.
The finding on the riskiness of online media is consistent with 2018, as is this year’s result showing “tracking quality metrics” as the most pressing item on leaders’ to-do lists.
Moving up in the “most important” category from a year ago was physician-patient communication, which bumped burnout down a notch.
“This may reflect the concern that digital technologies, such as electronic health records, are impacting communication between physician and patient,” noted the authors of the survey report, referencing a similar finding in its 2018 survey of more than 3,400 physicians.
The new survey further found a majority of provider organizations devoting more resources than before to data security, investing in security protocols and worker training.
“The concerns expressed by our nation’s healthcare leaders show the growing impact of digital healthcare,” said Richard Anderson, MD, chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company. “EHRs continue to have a negative impact on the doctor-patient communication. Telemedicine, retail medicine and healthcare apps are changing the way many people access healthcare. It remains to be seen how this will affect medical outcomes and malpractice litigation.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.