The qualitative research showed clinical users consider computers offer benefits to doctors, patients and the government. Doctors are deemed to benefit via better information storage and retrieval, efficiency of storage space and time, more accurate records, improved drug management, improved legibility and presentation, better security and integration of clinical and administrative functions. The government is believed to benefit from cost savings, control over doctors, control over 'doctor shoppers' and access to population health data. Doctors feel they have to move with the times, and this includes use of computers. Computers are seen to help manage the weight of information arriving in surgeries.
Clinical users sense few adverse reactions from patients to use of a computer in the consultation.
Some of these documents are provided as Adobe Acrobat pdf files. You will need to install the Adobe Acrobat reader on your computer to view these files. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe's website 485Kb Volume 1. A study into levels of, and attitudes towards information technology in general practice. 148Kb Volume 2.