A Pew Research Center study showed that 10 percent of Americans have no broadband access at home other than a smartphone data plan. A smaller subset, 7 percent, has limited options for Internet access and no broadband service in their home.
As healthcare digitizes, it comes to depend on patients having access online. One of the requirements of CMS’ meaningful use stage 3 proposed rules is for patients to view, download or transmit their information through a patient portal, which typically requires Internet access of some kind. Many patient portals are not formatted for mobile devices, but EHR providers are beginning to provide patient portals and mobile access, according to Medical Economics.
The Pew Research Center study also found that those who depend more heavily on smartphones for Internet access are less likely to be covered by health insurance. More than half of respondents used their phones frequently to look up health conditions or information about health issues as well.
