Veterans Show High Interest in Use of Technology for Healthcare.

Veterans who receive care from the VA for mental health conditions have broad interest in using cell phones and computers for healthcare-related communications, but such efforts would have to be carefully tailored to patients, a new study co-authored by a School of Public Health researcher says.

In a study in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health, a team led by the VA Boston Healthcare System that includes D. Keith McInnes, a research assistant professor of health law, policy, and management and a researcher with the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Medical Center, surveyed 74 patients treated for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions at a local VA medical center to gauge their interest in using digital devices for healthcare communications, such as appointment and medication reminders.

The survey found there was “considerable interest” in communicating via computer in areas such as getting laboratory results (68 percent), reporting symptoms to providers (63 percent), and having providers message a patient to indicate how he or she was doing (61 percent). There also was interest among the veterans in receiving appointment and medication refill reminders (53 percent) via cell phones. Of least interest were video-related uses, such as video therapy.

“Broadly, these findings confirm the potential utility of enhancing mental healthcare through digital technologies, especially for patients in rural areas, housebound, or with other transportation barriers,” the authors said.

About 80 percent of the study respondents reported having access to a computer, and 97 percent reported having a cell phone. But fewer than half had a smartphone, and only 12 percent had access to a tablet computer.

The authors said younger veterans were more interested in digital means of communicating; the average age of the sample was 56.

“Despite some greater interest in using computers than cell phones for some tasks, there was variety in the specific ways that participants in our sample wanted to involve technology in their healthcare,” the researchers said.

“An implication of these results is the importance of tailoring any given technology-based communication to the patient, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all programs that focus exclusively on one particular device or one specific type of healthcare communication or task.”

The authors recommended further study of the factors that affect interest in the use of technology and in the use of particular software programs.

—Lisa Chedekel