Digital Tools Only Work If Patients Have Access
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Digital health tools allow patients to share medical information with their physicians, yet according to a survey conducted by Nielsen and commissioned by the Bipartisan Policy Center and Council of Accountable Physician Practices, patients lack access to such technology. Of more than 5,000 U.S. residents, few said they had access to digital health tools. According to iHealth Beat:
● 21 percent of patient respondents said they have access to online appointment scheduling services
● 15 percent said they use email to communicate with their physician
● 9 percent said they receive text reminders
“Having ready access to a doctor is vital to high quality health care. Yet the busy schedules of consumers and physicians alike often prevent timely attention to routine and urgent healthcare problems in the traditional 9-to-5 physician office visit options. Digital technologies can help overcome the barriers to accessing medical care, yet our survey shows that these tools are not available to most Americans,” said Robert Pearl, M.D., chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group in a press release. “Health care providers must step up our adoption of these common-sense and available solutions if we are truly going to reform healthcare delivery.”
The Washington Post reports that, according to Pearl, inertia by physicians and a lack of financial incentives to tackle a complex task, are the biggest barriers. Doctor practices can’t bill for these technologies, and for the tools to work well, they need to be linked electronically with diagnostic labs, pharmacies and other physician practices, he explained.
“Within these survey findings, it is important to note that the gaps between usage and interest levels may be an awareness issue. Consumers who expressed low interest levels in certain technologies may actually have limited awareness of available tools and the possible beneficial impact these applications may have,” noted Jennifer Colamonico, VP of Healthcare Insights and Chair at Strategic Health Perspectives, Nielsen Consumer Insights North America. “If consumers aren’t familiar with all the options, or cannot imagine how those options could enhance their healthcare experience, they place little value in such options. But consumer education can increase demand for and usage of these tools.”