Survey Sees More Consumer Interest in Cellphones to Track Personal Health

Three in ten Americans recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute said they would use their cell or smart phone to track and monitor their personal health, and 40 percent would be willing to pay for a remote monitoring device that sends health information directly to their doctor, according to a recent survey.

The findings of the survey and new report entitled Healthcare Unwired were presented today by PricewaterhouseCoopers at the mHealth Initiative 2nd International mHealth Conference in San Diego. PricewaterhouseCoopers' research includes a nationwide survey of 2,000 consumers and 1,000 physicians regarding their use and preferences for remote and mobile health services and devices. The survey found:

Thirty-one percent of consumers said they would be willing to incorporate an application into their existing cell phone or smart phone to be able track and monitor their personal health information. Forty percent of consumers said they would be willing to pay for a device and a monthly subscription fee for a mobile phone application that would send text and e-mail reminders to take their medications, refill prescriptions or to access their medical records and track their health. Twenty-seven percent of consumers said they would find medication reminders sent via text to be helpful, and men are twice as likely as women to say they would use a mobile device for health-related reminders.

In addition the poll revealed that forty percent of consumers would also be willing to pay for a remote monitoring device and a monthly subscription that would send data automatically to their doctor health information such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and weight. Fifty-six percent of consumers say they like the idea of remote healthcare, and 41 percent would prefer to have more of their care delivered via a mobile device.

Fifty-seven percent of physicians said they would like to use remote devices to monitor the patients outside of the hospital. Physicians, however, want to see filtered information or exceptions in their patient's health, not all the data all the time. Too much information could actually slow down care.