Patients willing to use technology to help manage their care
Most people would use health technology if it meant they could avoid going into hospital, according to a survey.
The same proportion (72%) would also use technology, including wearable and health monitoring devices, to help better manage and monitor their health.
And they would also be willing to share the information and data gathered with their doctors and other medical professionals, the Ipsos study found.
The survey of 1,037 members of the public highlights people’s increasing appetite for using technology to self-manage their care and, more broadly, to take greater responsibility for their health and that of their families.
78% of people surveyed said they would be happy to use different types of health monitoring equipment to help manage their health if a healthcare professional recommended it to them. 89% of people aged over were 75 willing to do so.
The survey, supported by Google Health, was carried out by Ipsos on behalf of the NHS Confederation, whose chief executive Matthew Taylor said: ‘There is clearly an appetite among the public to use technology to self-manage their long-term conditions and, more broadly, to take greater responsibility for their health and that of their families.’
Findings showed 83% of adults already use some form of technology to manage their health, and this increases to 89% in people living with one or more long-term condition.
But only just over half of those surveyed were currently satisfied with the technologies and tools available for them.
73% of patients said they want their doctors to provide them with the ‘best technology available’, with 58% wishing their doctor provided them with technology to monitor their health.
Ease of appointment booking and the ability to communicate via messaging services with healthcare teams were also high on the list of priorities.
68% of people believe healthcare in the future will include more technology and less reliance on healthcare professionals, although this comes with the concern that without access to the right technologies, access to healthcare could be limited.