Patient empowerment: what is the role of technology in transforming care? (NHS Confederation, 13 June 2023)

Summary

Technology holds promise for the future of healthcare. It can prevent illness, enable early diagnosis, empower health management and support general wellbeing. But how might people use technology to have more control over their health and wellbeing? And do they want to? This report explores the role of technology in managing, improving and supporting health and wellbeing.

The NHS Confederation, in partnership with Google Health, commissioned Ipsos to explore people’s behaviours, attitudes and beliefs about responsibility and control when it comes to their health, the role that health technologies play in this and their expectations about the future of healthcare. A survey of more than 1,000 adults in the UK – a third of whom live with one or more long-term conditions (LTCs) – and interviews with individuals with LTCs and who have frequent interaction with the health system, forms the centrepiece of this report.

Content

Key points

• While individuals feel accountable for their health and wellbeing and want to be empowered to improve it, what became evident is that, frequently, they lack the confidence, tools and technologies to take control as much as they would like.
• We heard that people want more control over their health but need their actions, and the tools they can use, to be endorsed by healthcare professionals. They also want to make better use of health technology, but not at the expense of face-to-face contact with their doctor or other healthcare worker.
• While the vast majority of people use some form of health technology and find that useful, they are not totally satisfied by what is currently on offer.
• Across all age groups more than 7 out of 10 (72 per cent) would use technology to avoid a hospital admission, with a similar proportion happy to use technology to monitor their health and share information and data with their doctors.
• Many individuals are not confident about using technology to manage their health, leading to a fear that they may be locked out of healthcare if they cannot access or use digital tools.
• People think there is a larger role for health technologies in the future; many are not confident in using them now.
• Three areas emerged as necessary building blocks that could enable greater patient empowerment: digital access and inclusion, patient satisfaction, and user confidence.
• This report concludes that the health service must design services in collaboration with patients to address these issues and empower patients. The next phase will explore health leaders’ and practitioners’ experiences and views and identify practical examples that speak to resetting the social contract between the public and the NHS.