A new survey of physicians by Healthcare IT News' sister site finds that 55 percent of them won't attest to Stage 2 meaningful use this year. It's "almost impossible" says one specialist polled by Medical Practice Insider.

"The following sentence is false 100 percent of the time: 'We completed meaningful use stages 1 and 2 and as a consequence the care we provide for our patients has improved,'" said another skeptical doc – one of nearly 2,000 polled by MPI in partnership with SERMO.

There are plenty of reasons that physicians find it preferable to forgo this next, much-harder stage of meaningful use. For many, it just doesn't make sense for their practice – or for their patients.

"It requires patients to have emails and engage my EHR," said a cardiologist. "Well, I have a lot of patients in their 80s and 90s, and they don’t have computers, let alone email."

"My patients are reluctant to use messaging and I personally do not like the interface for my portal," said a family practitioner.

Read more about the results at Medical Practice Insider.

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