What IT Solutions Providers Need To Know About Healthcare And Smartphone Use

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

Smartphones may be the key to reaching groups of healthcare users than other modes of communication neglect.

A New Group Of Health Users?
According to a recent Pew report on smartphone use, a full10 percent of Americans own a smartphone, but don’t have broadband at home. An additional 15 percent say that they own a smartphone but that their options for getting online outside of their cell phone are limited.

Smartphones provide access for many peripheral groups in the healthcare space including people with low income and educational levels,non-Whites, and younger adults. These groups are “especially likely to be smartphone-dependent.”

The report emphasizes the use of smartphones in accessing health information, and the importance they play in the lives of younger users.

• Among Americans ages 18 to 29, 15 percent are dependant on a smartphone for online access
• For Americans with an annual household income of less than $30,000, 13 percent are dependent on smartphones. This is true for only 1 percent of Americans making more than $75,000 per year.
• Among non-white Americans, 13 percent of Latinos are smartphone dependent and 12 percent of African Americans are the same. The number drops to 4 percent for white Americans.

A Deeper Level Of Usage
While it is easy to view the smartphone as an access point to entertainment and social media only, the report indicates that 62 percent of smartphone users have used their phone to access information about a health condition within the past year.

Young people, especially, heavily rely on smartphones for information-gathering. Among the 85 percent of young adults who are smartphone users, three-quarters of them (ages 18 to 29) have used their phone in the last year to access information about a health condition.

Overall, smartphone users seem connected to their phones and see them as valuable, useful tools. Among those surveyed, 46 percent saidthey couldn’t live without their phones, 72 percent saw them as a “connecting” force (as opposed to “distracting”), 93 percent describe them as “helpful,” and 80 percent found them to be worth the cost.

The Importance Of Text Messaging
As the healthcare industry begins to ask questions about patient portals and communication with patients, the features users access on the phone will become more important.

Among all demographics except the 50+ age bracket, text messaging was the most popular feature used, with 100 percent of users 18 to29 reporting access and 98 percent of users 30 to 49 doing so. Among those 50 and older, the study found a 92-percent use rate in text messaging.

Going Deeper
To read more about the challenges of security in healthcare text messaging, read “How Secure Are Healthcare’s Text Messages?”