The Two-Way Street of Patient Engagement in Health IT

[Commentary] Will patients really want to engage with health information technology?

Consumer surveys conducted in the past 12 months show most U.S. adults are interested in various aspects of electronic health information. Three-quarters of people would use a secure online tool to make it easier to communicate with the doctor's office, according to an Intuit poll conducted in January 2011. Furthermore, one-half of those interested in online access to doctors would consider switching doctors to one whose office offered secure online access. If people could securely connect with doctors, Intuit found, 51% would ask care-related questions. Thus, interest in online connections with doctors' offices goes well beyond appointment scheduling (the top-desired electronic function, with 81% saying they would use it), prescription requests (68%), obtaining lab results (62%), completing medical forms (59%), and reviewing and paying bills online (53%). While findings about U.S. health consumers' interest in electronic health data are welcoming, concerns about data security and privacy could put the brakes on patient engagement in health IT.