Texas Residents' Views On State Health-Care System

A new survey by Dell/Zogby International finds that Texas residents believe that new advancements in health-care information technology would help improve the quality of patient care, reduce health-care costs and help reform the overall state health-care system.

Texans are optimistic about the positive benefits of health-care IT. Forty percent of Texans predict the quality and efficiency of care will dramatically or significantly improve as more technology is introduced into the healthcare system, and another thirty-three percent predict modest improvements.

Despite the optimism, Texans believe the state's health system needs reform. Nearly three in five Texas residents say the state's
current health-care system needs reform. The survey also showed that Texas residents have witnessed their own doctors increase their use of technology over the past few years.

Among those who feel that reforms are necessary, cost (75 percent) far outweighs quality of care (15 percent) and efficiency and convenience (9 percent) as most critical.

Texans want policymakers to take action. Texas residents are more likely to feel that policymakers (37 percent) would have more impact than insurers (22 percent), health-care providers (16 percent), or employers (11 percent) on driving improvements in the state's health-care system. The current system poses efficiency and quality-of-care challenges. Nearly one in five participants said they have had a duplicate medical test or evaluation because health-care providers did not have the necessary medical records.