A study from Chilmark Research found that while most providers know about engagement tools such as telemedicine, patient-generated data, chronic condition management tools and mobile apps, most of them have not caught on in practices. Study author Naveen Rao estimated that the soonest these tools will be widely implemented is between 18 and 24 months away, according to MobiHealthNews.
Some of the blame may fall on vendors being unwilling to provide extra services or to innovate, according to the report. Bigger vendors can afford to test and implement more tools, but smaller vendors are more focused on meaningful use software, such as patient portals, which are more widely available.
“So as we see this develop over the next couple of years, what we see [coming is] two waves of adoption of infrastructure and IT and technologies,” Mr. Rao told MobiHealthNews. “And patient engagement, for better or for worse, is not really a part of that first wave.”
