Survey finds that doctors and patients are embracing medical technology

Rapidly evolving medical technology is empowering the individual and is finding favor among patients and doctors alike.

by John Tyburski

Copyright © Daily Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

First published at Daily Digest News on September 22, 2014

Medical technology is a rapidly evolving influence on health care that is helping people take more control over their own health care. The technological advances are being embraced by many patients and doctors, according to a new survey conducted by Medscape/WebMD. These findings come as part of the WebMD/Medscape Digital Technology Survey of more than 1,100 patients and 1,400 health care professionals, 827 of which are doctors.

The Survey contained questions that focused on the how medical care is evolving. Some devices that have become involved in personal health care, for example, are smartphones and other portable electronic devices. The recent announcement of a smartphone app for newborn jaundice screening illustrates this well.

Smartphones can already be used to track one’s blood sugar level, and apps are soon expected for checking cholesterol and monitoring the heart’s electrical activity.

Other areas in health care in which technology has had a profound impact for both patients and doctors are in the diagnostic process, disclosure of procedural costs, more access to medical records, counseling on radiation exposures from imaging procedures, and genetic testing for elevated disease risk.

According to Eric Topol, MD, editor-in-chief of Medscape and chief academic officer of Scripps Health, this survey is unique in that it is the largest survey yet that has asked questions to both doctors and patients.

“Technology is really democratizing all aspects of the doctor’s visit,” said Topol.

Results of the survey indicate that 84 percent of patients and 69 percent of doctors welcome technology that promises to aid and enhance the diagnostic process. Both groups mostly agree that smartphones can be valuable tools when it comes to blood tests.

Doctors and patients did not agree on all survey questions. Roughly 40 percent of patients like the idea of identifying health concerns with technology and skipping the doctor visit. However, only 17 percent of the doctors surveyed embraced this potential shift in health care.

More on the survey findings can be found at WebMD.com.