Nurses Weigh in on Challenges and Technology Use in Epocrates Survey

September 8, 2009 -- Epocrates, Inc., a leading provider of decision support solutions, released survey results exploring challenges facing today's nurses and the increasing role of technology use in hospitals and clinics across the nation.

The majority of nurses surveyed expressed significant concern that the national nursing shortage will have a negative impact on patient safety and care. Nurses also report the shortage impacts their day-to-day job by decreasing time spent with patients (46 percent), increasing responsibilities (42 percent) and increasing patient load (37 percent). In turn, these nurses are relying on mobile technology to help improve patient communication and satisfaction, and recommend it to colleagues. The survey found:  

* Approximately 50 percent of respondents estimate saving more than 30 minutes per day using Epocrates® software with rapid access to drug information, pill pictures, medical calculators and additional decision support tools.
* Respondents report primarily using Epocrates software during a patient consultation to look up drug dosing, side effects and adverse reactions, and check for drug interactions.
* Palm® devices (personal digital assistants and smartphones) are favored by nurses, followed by iPhone® or iPod® touch and BlackBerry® devices.

Editor's note: Survey respondents randomly selected to participate represents the nation's nurses in urban (49 percent), suburban (33 percent) and rural (18 percent) areas. Approximately half of respondents have been practicing for more than 20 years.