FRAMINGHAM, Mass., February 10, 2006 - A recent survey of 1,095 consumers, conducted by IDC's Health Industry Insights, reveals a significant number of respondents (70%) are unaware of the U.S. government's initiative to make Electronic Health Records (EHRs) available to citizens by 2014. Respondents, regardless of their level of awareness, are divided when asked if the government will meet this goal, with 45% confident and 43% not confident.

"Consumers are both unaware of this Federal initiative and skeptical of the value proposition associated with digital health care," says Marc Holland, program director of Healthcare Provider Research at Health Industry Insights and author of the report. "It's clear that those involved in these efforts to improve health care service delivery - government, providers, vendors, etc. - are being called upon by consumers to clearly demonstrate and effectively publicize evidence that they are making tangible progress and addressing consumer concerns related to privacy and confidentiality."

Additional survey results find:
* An overwhelming majority of respondents (86%) are somewhat or very concerned about the health industry's ability to protect the privacy of personal health information in deploying EHRs.

* Consumers rank overcoming privacy/security (44%) as the top challenge in meeting the 2014 goal, followed by complexity and cooperation within the healthcare industry (24%).

* While a majority of consumers believe that Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and EHRs will favorably impact the quality of care received from primary care providers, less than half (33%) believe it will materially reduce the cost of care.

These findings, and more, are covered in Holland's report to be published this month entitled Consumer Attitudes Toward EMRs, EHRs and the Privacy of Health Information.

About Health Industry Insights, an IDC Company
Health Industry Insights, an IDC company, provides health industry executives with research-based advisory and consulting services that enable healthcare and life science executives to maximize the business value of their technology investments minimize technology risk through accurate planning; benchmark themselves against industry peers; adopt industry best practices for business/technology alignment; make more informed technology decisions; and drive technology-enabled business innovation. Health Industry Insights provides full coverage of the health industry value chain and closely follows the payer, provider and life science segments, with special emphasis on developing and employing strategies that leverage IT investments to maximize organizational performance. Staffed by senior analysts with significant technology experience in the health care industry, Health Industry Insights provides a portfolio of offerings that are relevant to both IT and business needs. Visit www.healthindustry-insights.com for more information.

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