Although healthcare technology had a more widespread appeal to younger consumers, the idea of using remote monitoring sparked interest in half of seniors and even more baby boomers, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health and Solutions.
Millennials between the ages of 18 and 30 are more likely than Boomers (ages 48-66) and Seniors (ages 67+) to use innovative technologies that support greater “self-engagement” in their care. However, 50% of seniors and 57% of boomers are open to using self-monitoring, or remote health monitoring technology, that sends information to doctors.
However, when it comes to applications that would provide medication reminders, far less seniors and boomers—at 14% and 27%, respectively—favored the idea, compared to 61% of Millennials.
The ease of accessibility attracts a younger, more tech savvy market that desires to take a more receptive role as health care consumers, says Deloitte. Health care technologies permitting doctor-patient interactions, treatment support, appointment scheduling and prescription refilling, can provide tech users with hands-on information regarding medical matters right at an individual’s fingertips.
Although seniors generally have more healthcare needs than their younger counterparts, their relative lack of interest in using innovative health information technologies (HIT) may be due to concern regarding the security and privacy of medical histories/records, the survey suggests.
The Deloitte Center also records that younger generations are more likely to seek cost and quality information, as well as negotiating pricing with providers than older generations. Where 23% of Millenials asked about pricing before agreeing to treatment, only 14% of Boomers did the same. The number is even less for Seniors, at a mere 8%.
As consumer demands for more options, information, and decision involvement grows, so will the number of younger generations seeking self-engagement as they age, says Deloitte, not only for themselves, but for family as well. To adjust to this increase, health care systems will need to set up more tools and opportunities for individuals’ self-concerned care.
Written by Jason Oliva
