Digital health resources are rapidly increasing in popularity, according to a Rock Health survey.
For this year's Digital Health Consumer Adoption report, Rock Health — a digital health venture fund — surveyed more than 4,000 healthcare consumers across the United States.
The survey's central finding noted that "digital health reached a tipping point in 2016," with 46 percent of consumers reporting they have used at least three digital health tools; in 2015, this number was only 19 percent.
Here are seven more of their findings:
1. Only 12 percent of respondents said they were non-adopters, not having used telemedicine, wearables, or other forms of digital health; in 2015, this number was 20 percent.
2. Almost 25 percent of all respondents own a wearable device; however, of consumers who rate their health as poor, only 8 percent have purchased a wearable in the last year.
3. When considering consumers who report tracking their health, the most commonly tracked signs included physical activity (44 percent) and heart rate (31 percent).
4. Twenty percent of respondents have asked to download a copy of their health records in the past six months; when considering health status, 28 percent of those in poor health asked for a copy of their health records, compared with only 19 percent of those in good health.
5. The majority, 77 percent, of consumers are interested in having the option to share their health information; however, 87 percent say they should control who has access to this data.
6. When considering which technology companies respondents would be most willing to share their health data with, Google ranks the highest (60 percent), while IBM ranks the lowest (37 percent).
7. Compared to previous years, consumers are more likely to pay for health tools; 39 percent of consumers reported being willing to pay for health expenses without reimbursement.