These days, industry watchers are curious to know how much the digital wave is able to sway the Healthcare sector. We all know that patients were never aware or informed about the care process which was completely handled by hospitals. Digital technology changed everything and now everyone’s keeping track of their health.

To gauge the rate of digital adoption and the current status of mhealth, Rock Health conducted a survey of approximately 4,000 people. Over the last one year, digital health adoption reached new heights with widespread acceptance.

Approximately 46 percent of the population have actively adopted digital health by using 3 or more types of tools such as wearables and telemedicine. This is a significant rise from the previous year when the adoption rate stood at 19 percent. Amongst the respondents, merely 12 percent were non-adopters which dropped from 20 percent in 2015.

Consumer technologies such as augmented and virtual reality also witnessed an increased adoption with consumers using these for pain management, relaxation, rehabilitation and mental health. Interestingly, a rising number of patients are demanding an electronic copy of their records as 20 percent of them have asked for the same or downloaded a copy over the last 6 months.

Moreover, most of the consumers (77 percent) are willing to share their medical information especially if it helps in getting better care from physicians. Since consumers are concerned about data privacy and security, control and ownership of information is important to them. Approximately 87 percent of the cohort indicated that they would like to have control over who accesses their data, while around 86 percent want to know about the data that’s collected about them. Interestingly, almost 62 percent would also share their health information for medical research.

When it comes to trust, tech companies and government are trusted the least while family members and physicians are entities who are believed to keep patient data safe. Physicians are also trusted for their alignment with patient interest while the government and tech companies don’t fare well on this parameter too.

On mobile health apps, the majority of the population records physical activity and heart rate. Medication adherence and blood pressure are least likely to be recorded in apps. Almost a third of the population with an app said that they downloaded the same on the recommendation of their physician. Other tools, such as wearables, are quite sought-after by the Americans. Almost 25 percent of Americans use a wearable and Samsung, Fitbit & Apple are their preferred choices of manufacturers.

Disclaimer: This survey was conducted by Rock Health and the full results of the survey can be found here.

Source: http://www.kmgus.com/blogs/healthit/index.php/2016/12/digital-health-adoption-on-a-rise-over-the-last-year/