A survey to investigate attitudes and perceptions of Chinese medicine professionals in health information technology in Hong Kong

Introduction: Health information technology (HIT) has been used to assist health care professionals in managing clinical tasks and conducting research. In recent years, HIT has also been applied to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In order to identify appropriate approaches to facilitate HIT adoption in TCM, a survey study was conducted to investigate the views of practitioners towards computer use in TCM. Methods: Questionnaires were administered from June to July 2013. Responses were collected from two groups (private practitioners and academics). Descriptive analyses were conducted. Results: The response rate for the private practitioner group was 65.49%. Although only 31.76% of private practitioners had used computer programmes for TCM practice, 72.30% of respondents agreed that computer programmes should be used in the clinical setting. In contrast, HIT adoption was high (95.00%) in the academic group. All respondents in the academic group agreed that computer programmes should be used in the clinical setting and research. Conclusions: Respondents from different TCM groups were generally supportive of the use of HIT in clinical practice. As views towards HIT use varied between the TCM groups, different approaches to HIT adoption is needed to suit the needs of TCM professionals in different settings.