Report reveals more than seven out of 10 people would use tech to avoid hospital admission

A new report on the role of technology in managing, improving, and supporting health and wellbeing has revealed that people would use technology to avoid hospital admission.

NHS Confederation and Google Health have released a report titled ‘Patient empowerment: what is the role of technology in transforming care?’

With the health and care sector at a crossroads, the time has come for an ambitious new social contract that empowers the public to take greater control of their own health and experience of care, says NHS Confederation.

The Google Health report unveils that many individuals are not confident about using technology to manage their health, leading to a fear that they may be locked out of healthcare if they cannot access or use digital tools.

It was also clear that while the vast majority of people use some form of health technology and find that useful, they are not totally satisfied by what is currently on offer. People think there is a larger role for health technologies in the future; many are not confident in using them now.

Across all age groups of respondents, more than seven out of 10 would use technology to avoid hospital admission, with a similar proportion happy to use technology to monitor their health and share information and data with their doctors.

Furthermore, Google found that not only do people want more control over their health but need their actions, and the tools they can use, to be endorsed by healthcare professionals. They also want to make better use of health technology but not at the expense of face-to-face contact with their doctor or other healthcare worker.

Three areas emerged as necessary building blocks that could enable greater patient empowerment: digital access and inclusion, patient satisfaction, and user confidence.

The next phase will explore health leaders’ and practitioners’ experiences and views and identify practical examples that speak to resetting the social contract between the public and the NHS.

A recent report from the ATech Policy Lab details how to raise mainstream awareness among frontline professionals of the potential of assistive technologies to transform the lives of millions of disabled people.