Study: Parents Prefer Electronic Health Forms Over Paper-Based Ones

Most parents prefer electronic forms over paper forms when filling out medical information about their children, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press reports (Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press, 2/7).

Study Details

For the study, researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto followed 180 parents of children who were being treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the Boston area (Abma, Postmedia News/Calgary Herald, 2/7).

Parents were asked to fill out traditional paper forms and electronic forms that asked about their child’s behavior, prescription medications and side effects to medication.

Although the two types of forms covered the same content, the electronic applications included:

• A multimedia component;
• An option to select medications from a list;
• Defined steps; and
• Feedback (Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press, 2/7).

Findings

According to the study, parents generally reported feeling less burdened when filling out the electronic forms, compared with the paper forms. Parents also said that the electronic forms were easier to complete and that they would be more likely to fill out such forms in the future (Postmedia News/Calgary Herald, 2/7).

Stephen Porter — lead author of the study and head of emergency medicine at the Toronto hospital — said the findings have important implications for efforts to design personal health record for pediatric chronic conditions (Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press, 2/7).

Source: iHealthBeat

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