Survey: 76% of Consumer Who Use Digital Health Tools Say They Improve Health
Seventy-six percent of consumers who use digital health tools say their health apps/devices have made them healthier. And 59% of consumers who use digital health tools use them at least once per day. Another 57% responded that using digital health tools has helped to lower their health care costs. The results are based on a March HealthMine survey of 500 insured consumers who use mobile/internet-connected health tools.
Has use of your mobile/smart health device/app changed your behavior with regard to managing your health?
| Impact of Digital Health Tool Usage | Percent |
| It's made me more healthy | 76% |
| It hasn't really changed my behavior | 20% |
| It's made me less healthy | 3% |
Growth in Digital Health Usage
Consumers are taking more steps towards digital health. There are now nearly 165,000 health-related apps, which run on Apple's iOS and Google's Android. PwC, a consulting firm, forecasts that by 2017 such apps will have been downloaded 1.7 billion times. Add to that 10 million activity trackers and 7 million smart watches shipped by the end of 2014 (ABI Research), as well as a growing crop of other Internet-connected health devices. According to HealthMine's survey, these tools—when used consistently—can drive up healthier behavior and drive down health care costs.
But Consumers Need More Motivation/Guidance to Maximize Digital Health Benefits
Despite the growth in health app and device usage, some consumers need more engagement and/or education to reap the benefits of these tools. HealthMine's survey found that, for those who are using digital health but not seeing the advantages, low usage is the number one reason, followed by a lack of understanding of what to do next/differently.
Why has use of your mobile/smart health device/app not had a positive impact?
| Why Digital Health Hasn't Made an Impact | Percent |
| I don't use it often enough | 38% |
| I am not always sure what to do next/differently | 34% |
| It's disconnected from my other health information/doctor | 12% |
| I don't always understand what the data mean | 11% |
Bryce Williams, CEO and president of HealthMine says, "The benefits of connected health are just starting to be realized. Real-time data can help drive the right health actions at the right time. Improving health status one person at a time can add up to improved population health." He continues, "At HealthMine, we are making sure the data gathered by these tools is 1) unified with a person's complete health information, and 2) analyzed against diagnostic codes and a person's clinical 'big picture' to identify specific actions that improve health."
Source: HealthMine, Inc
1721 Valley Forge Road #486
Valley Forge, PA 19481