The permeation of technology throughout the healthcare industry has allowed patients to take a more proactive, competitive and informed approach to their healthcare. While healthcare technology has primarily been introduced from the provider end of treatment, recent innovations can potentially provide patients with the tools to conduct tests on themselves and track conditions. According to a recent survey by The Harris Poll, many people are interested in using applications designed for mobile devices for various medical uses.
The survey was conducted across 2,537 adults in August. Highlights from the survey are shown below.
General findings
- Currently, the most common health applications for mobile devices are those that can be used to track physical activity, with 43 percent of respondents saying they are extremely or very interested in this.
- Nearly half of Americans are extremely or very interested in being able to use their smartphone or tablet to check their blood pressure (48 percent) or their heart and heartbeat for irregularities (47 percent).
- There is significant interest in using applications for general blood testing services (41 percent), photographing one's eye, cornea or retina to diagnose eye problems (40 percent), checking blood sugar or glucose levels (39 percent), measuring lung function (38 percent) and diet tracking (36 percent).
Differences by gender and age
- Males indicated a stronger interest in using services and applications on mobile devices for blood-related tests, including checking blood pressure, (51 percent of men vs. 45 percent of women); conducting general blood testing (45 percent vs. 38 percent) and checking their blood sugar or blood glucose levels (43 percent vs. 35 percent).
- Millennials are more likely than older generations to be interested in many of the services and applications evaluated. For example, 57 percent of millennials indicated they would use mobile device applications to track physical activity compared with 45 percent of generation Xers, 35 percent of baby boomers and 25 percent of matures.
Differences by condition
- Survey results showed that interest for many of these technologies is higher among those who have chronic or long-lasting conditions for which monitoring biometrics is essential. For example, the majority of respondents who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease are extremely or very interested in checking their blood pressure on smartphones or tablets (60 percent, 59 percent and 56 percent, respectively).
- The majority of diabetics surveyed (57 percent) and those diagnosed with heart disease (56 percent) are extremely or very interested in being able to check their blood glucose level with smartphone and tablet applications.