Patients Draw The Line At Mobile Sharing

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

While many patients are enthusiastic about making appointments or receiving medication reminders through their mobile devices, few are willing to share personal health data on them.

According to Fierce Mobile Healthcare, a recent study has found many patients are willing to use their mobile devices to access information regarding:

• appointment alerts
• medication reminders
• lab results

However, sensitive information such as diagnostic information and digital images and videos were not things respondents were willing to share via their smartphones.

The study, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, notes patients under 50 were more likely to share through mobile technology. Those with higher education, higher income, and high trust levels in healthcare providers were also more likely to share.

“Respondents were less willing to exchange via mobile devices information that may be considered sensitive or complex. Age, socioeconomic factors, and trust in professional information were associated with willingness to engage in mobile health information exchange,” writes the study's corresponding author, Katrina J. Serrano, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. “Both information type and demographic group should be considered when developing and tailoring mobile technologies for patient-clinician communication.”

While many patients reported feeling willing to share their data, less than 6 percent had actually exchanged health-related data via a mobile device.

Health IT Outcomes reports a study conducted last year found 94 percent of patients who use social media would be willing to share their information online to help doctors improve care. In addition, 94 percent would be willing to help other patients like them and 92 percent would be willing to share to help researchers learn more about their disease.