The use of digital tools for health care continued to grow in 2018, and also saw a change of direction, as people increasingly used wearable devices to manage health conditions, as opposed to tracking fitness. The report also explored consumer commitment to digital health devices and the issue of data privacy.

The findings are part of a new report by Rock Health, a digital health venture fund that has surveyed consumers about digital health since 2015. The new report said use of digital health tools grew again in 2018, after a pause in growth in 2017. The study found that 89 percent of respondents used at least one digital health tool last year.

Tools included in the survey were telemedicine video visits, wearable devices, mobile tracking devices, online provider reviews, and online health information. Since 2015, telemedicine use has grown from 7 percent of respondents to 34 percent. Use of wearables went from 13 percent to 33 percent. Mobile tracking use went from 18 percent to 28 percent. Online provider reviews grew 14 percent, from 50 percent to 64 percent. And the most commonly used tool, finding online health information, grew from 71 percent to 80 percent of respondents.

A shift from fitness to health management

The study said one of its biggest findings was a dramatic change in how consumers used digital tools—respondents said they were using such tools more to manage their health and less to motivate fitness.

“Monitoring physical activity remains the top reason for wearable use, but only 44 percent of wearable owners cited physical activity as the top reason for their wearable use, down from 54 percent in 2017,” the report said. “This 10 percent decrease is mirrored by a 10 percent increase in respondents using a wearable to manage a diagnosis. Wearables are morphing from their original fitness and wellness label into a tracker that can be clinically meaningful to patients—and perhaps even providers.” The study also noted a jump in the use of devices to help people sleep better: from 27 percent in 2017 to 31 percent in 2018.

Another finding was a surge in adoption rates for telemedicine—although most of that was among urban consumers. Telemedicine is often seen as a way to bring more care options to rural areas, but the survey found more use of this technology in urban areas. “Adoption of at least one form of telemedicine was 67 percent for rural residents and 80 percent for urban residents,” the report said.

In fact, the report said that older rural consumers are being left behind in this area of technology. Part of the problem may be tied to marketing the technology, authors said. “Only 17 percent of rural respondents aged 35-plus utilized video telemedicine in 2018—19 percentage points less than rural respondents aged 18 to 34, and 29 percentage points less than urban residents aged 35-plus,” they wrote. “Perhaps this outcome isn't too surprising—just a quick glance at the marketing of well-funded, telemedicine-based startups makes it clear that they are targeting tech-savvy millennials.”

Unique challenges to adoption—and commitment

The study also acknowledged it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the digital health industry. “Discontinued wearable use still plagues the sector—many a step tracker sits at the bottom of a drawer,” the study said. “In 2018, 39 percent of wearable users stopped using their wearable, marking a substantial jump from 27 percent in 2017. This is significant—the number of respondents who stopped using a wearable in 2018 was larger than the increase in respondents who adopted a wearable from 2017 to 2018.”

However, the report's authors added, the trend toward clinical use rather than just as a way to track fitness, should make the wearable market more “sticky.” The use of devices for managing health problems has value for providers and will give consumers more incentive to continue use, they said.

And interest from innovative companies and investors continues to be high, the report notes, pointing to a joint venture between Apple and Aetna in encouraging healthy behaviors among consumers who buy an Apple watch.

The study also tracked a change in how consumers feel about sharing health care data. Consumers may be responding to headlines about large corporations being victims of data breaches in recent years—the study found a nearly 9 percent drop in respondents willing to share data with health care entities such as providers, researchers, and insurance companies. Physicians still scored highly (72 percent of respondents were willing to share data), but of note for this study, tech companies came in last, with only 11 percent of respondents willing to share data with those companies.

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