10 trends in the digital preferences of physicians and their patients

Practice Management

Black Book released its consumer survey for the fourth quarter of 2016, focusing on the digital divide in healthcare.

The survey asked consumers to evaluate technology in healthcare over the previous 12 months. Here are 10 key points:

 

1. More than half—57 percent—of the consumers who reported experience with hospitals, physicians or ancillary providers in 2016 were skeptical of the overall health benefits of health information technologies, including patient portals, mobile apps and EHR. Data hacking and a perceived lack of privacy drove the skepticism about HIT.

 

2. Eighty-seven percent of patients reported unwillingness to comprehensively divulge their medical information, up from 66 percent in 2013.

 

3. The consumers were particularly concerned about data sharing beyond their chosen provider and payers to their retailers, employers and government without their knowledge:

 

• Pharmacy prescriptions: 90 percent
• Mental health notes: 99 percent
• Chronic condition: 81

 

4. Seventy percent of Americans reported distrusting healthcare technology, up from 10 percent in 2014.

 

5. Ninety-three percent of Americans reported concerns over security of their personal financial information since high deductible plans and copays require more credit card information passed from providers.

 

6. Eighty-nine percent of consumers report withholding information during visits to their healthcare provider.

 

7. Physicians also took the survey with 94 percent reporting the information given to them is overwhelming, redundant and unlikely to make clinical differences. However, 91 percent of consumers with wearables think their physician practice's medical record systems should store all health related data they request.

 

8. Eighty-five percent of the physicians reported adding EHRs and other technologies made patient care too impersonal, but 89 percent of consumers wanted more access to information and choices in treatment providers, locations and alternatives, according to the survey.

 

9. Ninety-one percent of the patients who reported they had apps relevant to their health improvement "felt slighted by their providers" because their providers don't accommodate personal data.

 

10. Most physicians — 94 percent — recommend government finding programs to enhance health technology literacy to patients.

 

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