Patient-oriented health technologies: Patients' perspectives and use

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Widespread patient acceptance of mobile health tools is crucial for improving healthcare delivery.
• Understanding patient attitudes toward health technology and data sharing is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess primary care patients' comfort levels in sharing health information via mobile devices.
• To evaluate patient awareness and utilization of patient portals.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 918 patients across 6 primary care clinics in the Northwest US.
• The survey collected data on health technology use, medical conditions, and demographics.

Main Results:

• A majority of patients (62%) were more comfortable sharing mobile health data with providers than with third parties (30%).
• Older patients (over 55) showed less comfort sharing data with providers.
• While portal awareness was low (39%), a significant portion of those aware used it (67%).
• Health literacy limitations correlated with lower portal awareness, not use; chronic condition patients had higher portal use.

Conclusions:

• Patient comfort, awareness, and use of health technologies are inconsistent.
• Healthcare practices should enhance awareness, address data security concerns, and offer training for new health technologies, particularly for older adults and individuals with limited health literacy.
• Patient-facing technologies offer opportunities for scalable health education and self-management support, especially for patients with chronic conditions utilizing patient portals.