Health tech reality check: Adoption is key
Internet access to electronic health records, refilling prescriptions via smartphone apps, and online payment options for medical bills are considered standard practices by many healthcare organizations and patients alike, today. If these services are now ubiquitous, it seems logical that the next step in technology adoption in healthcare will be the widespread use of tools such as remote patient monitoring and virtual visits. The mainstreaming of these tools is just around the corner because we hear so much about them.
Not so fast, says a recent survey of US adults by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Although technology is used frequently, its use is not as widespread as you might think and is heavily skewed toward younger users. Some of the results I found most interesting in terms of patient use of technology:1
Access records and tests – 44%
Prescription refills – 39%
Manage chronic conditions – 22%
Video calls with providers – 10%
There has been a push towards patient access to medical records for at least a decade. And, prescription refill apps have been common since the adoption of smartphones. Yet, only around 4 in 10 people are using technology for these services. Given the perspective of a 40% or so adoption rate for familiar services (access to records and refilling prescriptions), a 22% adoption rate for chronic condition management and 10% for video calls for providers is promising.
The age breakdown of the survey reveals that we may have some ground to cover before the widespread use of 'new' health tech, such as chronic condition management and virtual visits:
By age breakdown, access to records/tests and prescription refills is very close, which could be interpreted as our saturation point for health technology at this time. The adoption of further technology for managing chronic conditions and the performance of video visits has a lot of catching up to do, especially for the 45 and older segments.
What does this survey say to those of us that are trying to make decisions on patient-facing technology? When adopting something new, we may need to remember to reach out and educate all patients on new (and existing) technology services and how to use them. Another point to keep in mind is that the 45 and older cohort is aging and will become a higher overall percentage of patients. They are significantly slower in using 'newer' health tech services. It might be a good idea to encourage the use of what you're already offering before you add something new.
By age breakdown, access to records/tests and prescription refills is very close, which could be interpreted as our saturation point for health technology at this time. The adoption of further technology for managing chronic conditions and the performance of video visits has a lot of catching up to do, especially for the 45 and older segments. What does this survey say to those of us that are trying to make decisions on patient-facing technology? When adopting something new, we may need to remember to reach out and educate all patients on new (and existing) technology services and how to use them. Another point to keep in mind is that the 45 and older cohort is aging and will become a higher overall percentage of patients. They are significantly slower in using ‘newer’ health tech services. It might be a good idea to encourage the use of what you’re already offering before you add something new.
1 Altman, D. (2019, September 10). Health tech has a long way to go. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://www.axios.com/health-tech-innovation-hype-poll-young-people-03d226d8-7442-43f2-80e5-e1e88190b280.html. 