53 Percent of Healthcare IT Executives Consider Physician Adoption to be the Greatest Challenge in Meeting Stage 1 Meaningful Use of EMRs, According to Industry Survey

48.2 Percent Believe that Password Management Issues Slow Physician Adoption of EMRs

LEXINGTON, Mass. — February 16, 2011—Imprivata, the #1 independent single sign-on and access management provider for healthcare and other regulated industries, today announced the results of its fourth annual online national survey examining IT trends in healthcare. The 2011 Health IT Survey polled hospitals across North America to identify technology trends related to the Meaningful Use of electronic medical records (EMRs), secure access to protected health information (PHI) and the impact of new technology on workflow and improved patient outcomes. Overall, the survey found that meeting Meaningful Use continues to take precedence amongst health IT goals, and that the growing use of remote and mobile users and the spread of virtualization is rapidly changing where, when and how clinicians access EMRs.

“Achieving Stage 1 Meaningful Use is a critical milestone for hospitals this year, and removing any barriers that may slow adoption is an essential component of the implementation plan,” says Barry P. Chaiken, MD, CMO at Imprivata. “By introducing technologies that protect patient privacy, yet optimize the clinician’s workflow experience by reducing the time it takes to reach the point of productivity, organizations can increase satisfaction and the likelihood for success.”

Physician adoption is key to success in meeting Meaningful Use of EMRs

The race is on for hospitals nationwide to deploy EMRs, meet Meaningful Use criteria and earn a coveted part of the stimulus fund the government set aside for implementing health information technology. 75 percent of survey respondents claim Meaningful Use to be their top budget priority for 2011 IT investments, with 53.5 percent citing physician adoption of EMRs to be their greatest challenge in meeting that goal. 87 percent of respondents said time to access an EMR impacts physician satisfaction and 73 percent said that it also impacts overall patient care.

With 48 percent of healthcare IT executives polled believing password management issues slow physician adoption of EMRs, it is clear that fast and secure access to patient data are essential to a successful deployment. Healthcare IT departments that understand clinician workflow and provide technologies that enable secure and convenient access to PHI without changing behavior, can speed EMR adoption.

Mobility on the Rise

Physicians are increasingly relying on mobile devices within their daily routines. Whether a doctor is accessing patient data from a kiosk in the hospital or checking a patient’s status from an iPad, this sensitive data needs to be protected and secure. More than half of respondents are aware that at least 26 percent of their physicians are accessing EMRs remotely, with many of these physicians using their own personal devices. The majority of respondents (65 percent) has currently deployed personal devices for physicians, or has plans to deploy before the end of 2012, indicating the need to implement technologies to protect patient data accessed on these devices.

Virtualization

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments are gaining momentum within the healthcare industry, as organizations looks to reduce management costs, save energy and improve clinician workflow. The survey found that 49 percent of respondents either currently has VDI environments (23 percent) or has active plans (26 percent) to implement a VDI environment.

The results of the 2011 Healthcare IT Survey reveal the critical role of physician adoption in meeting Stage 1 Meaningful Use of EMRs, as well as trends towards improving physician satisfaction with advances in areas such as mobility and virtualization for faster and more convenient, yet secure access to PHI. The survey indicates that the time to access PHI, from wherever a physician may be, can affect adoption and impact the success or failure of an EMR deployment.

The survey polled nearly 500 healthcare IT decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada.

About Imprivata

With more than one million health care users, Imprivata is the #1 independent provider of single sign-on and access management solutions for health care, government, finance and other regulated industries. By strengthening user authentication, streamlining application access and simplifying compliance reporting across multiple computing environments, customers realize improved workflows, increased security and compliance with government regulations.

Imprivata has received numerous product awards and top review ratings from leading industry publications and analysts, including a Strong Positive rating in Gartner’s 2010 ESSO Marketscope, the #1 ranking in the KLAS SSO Performance report and the #1 rating in 2010 Best in KLAS and Category Leaders report. Headquartered in Lexington, Mass., Imprivata partners with over 200 resellers, and serves the access security needs of more than 1,100 customers around the world. For more information, please visit www.imprivata.com or follow us on Twitter at @Imprivata.

Imprivata is a registered trademark of Imprivata, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All Imprivata products are trademarks of Imprivata, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other product or company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.