Nearly 90 percent of patients responding to a recent survey conducted by market research agency ORC International for the Society for Participatory Medicine (SPM) say they want to partner with caregivers to live healthier lives.
Eighty-four percent of the survey's 1,012 respondents say they believe self-monitoring apps and devices can boost health management efforts; 81 percent say are likely to use a mHealth device when recommended by a provider.
What's more, 76 percent of respondents say they are willing to use an easy and accurate mHealth device, and 77 percent believe such technology would be beneficial for patients and care providers.
"What this survey points out is that patients want to become engaged in their own health and collaborate with their healthcare professionals," Daniel Z. Sands, co-founder and co-chair of SPM, says in an announcement. The trend, he believes, will lead to better patient outcomes and lower care costs.
Sands calls the survey a "stunning endorsement," of the participatory healthcare model, in a viewpoint post to e-patients.net.
"A fundamental precept of participatory medicine is that healthcare should not be a spectator sport--it's best practiced in a participatory manner," he says. "This requires engagement from both the patient and the clinician."
A recent Consumer Technology Association report found a growing number of consumers are using health and fitness devices, and that 35 percent likely to buy such technology in the next 12 months will choose a smartwatch.
For more information:
- here's the survey
- read the announcement (.pdf)
- check out Sand's perspective