Healthcare Digital Divide Widens - Consumer's fear privacy and hacks outweigh benefits

57 percent of consumers with contact experience to hospital, physician or ancillary provider’s technology in 2016 report being skeptical of the overall benefits of health information technologies such as patient portals, mobile apps, and electronic health records mainly because of recently reported data hacking and a perceived lack of privacy protection by providers says a January 3, 2017 Black Book national poll of healthcare consumers.

The national survey which included 12,090 adult consumers. Key findings include:

As the amount of available health data increases so does the hesitancy for consumers to share that information due to industry privacy and security issues.

The unwillingness of patients to comprehensively divulge all their medical information rose to 87 percent in Q4 2016. 

• Fewer consumers at this point in time do not want their digital health histories to extend beyond their physician and hospital, previously measured in 2013 at 66 percent who were willing to divulge all personal health data to achieve enhanced care. Especially alarming to respondents were the concerns that their pharmacy prescriptions (90 percent), mental health notes (99 percent) and chronic condition (81 percent) data is being shared beyond their chosen provider and payer to retailers, employers, and or the government without their acknowledgment.
• In a follow up to an Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) survey, Black Book found this year that 70 percent of American distrust health technology, sharply climbing from only 10 percent in 2014. 
• 89 percent of consumers with 2016 provider visits report withholding health information during visits. 93 percent responding expressed concerns over the security of their personal financial information, as high deductible Obamacare plans and co-pays have more banking and credit card data passing from providers.
• 69 percent of patients confirm their belief that their current primary care physician does not demonstrate enough technology prowess for them to trust divulging all their personal information.

Not surprisingly, the survey also clearly made the point: Physicians Don’t Want all that Information

• 94 percent of physicians responding to the provider section of the survey find all that data overwhelming, redundant and unlikely to make a clinical difference.
• In contrast, 91 percent consumers with wearables believe their physician practice’s medical record system should store any health related data they request.
• 96 percent of physician office patients said they left their visit with poorly communicated or miscommunicated instructions on patient portal use.
• 94 percent with health or activity trackers said their physician, when asked, informed them the practice had no capability or interest in coordinating their outcomes currently via their EHR. 98 percent of patients using a nutritional or weight loss app had similar responses from their doctors.
• Conversely, 82 percent of physicians surveyed report that some highly literate patients surfing healthcare internet sites collect both valid and invalid information about their condition, often complicating diagnoses and exceeding time allotments for visits currently under the current system.

85 percent of doctors lamented that the addition of EHRs and other technologies has made patient care too impersonal, Yet a larger disengage between doctors and patients is occurring, noted by the 89 percent of consumers surveyed demanding access to more information and choices in their treatment providers, locations and alternatives, sh

“In this age of healthcare consumerism people want to receive care through technologically enabled alternatives like telemedicine visits, secure email communications with their practitioner, and immediate access to records and scheduling,” said Brown.

More about the Digital Divide at https://blackbookmarketresearch.newswire.com/news/healthcares-digital-divide-widens-black-book-consumer-survey-18432252