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Insights for Internists: “I Want the Computer to Know Who I Am”

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ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

In designing electronic personal health records (PHRs) and related health technologies, lay perspectives are rarely solicited, and we know little about what individuals want and need.

OBJECTIVE

To learn how diverse, primarily lay individuals envision how PHRs and other emerging and future electronic technologies could enhance their care.

DESIGN

Qualitative study of eight focus groups with adult consumers, patients, and health professionals.

PARTICIPANTS

Eighty-two adult frequent Internet users who expressed interest in health-related matters and represented diverse populations and a broad demographic range.

MEASUREMENTS

Focus group transcripts were analyzed qualitatively, using behavioral and grounded theory, employing an immersion/crystallization approach.

MAIN RESULTS

Individuals expect technology to transform their interactions with the health-care system. Participants want computers to bring them customized health information and advice: “I want the computer to know who I am.” They desire unfettered access to their health record: “I don’t know if I want to read [my entire record], but I want to have it.” They expect home monitors and other technologies will communicate with clinicians, increasing efficiency and quality of life for patients and providers. Finally, especially for the chronically and acutely ill, privacy is of far less concern to patients than to health professionals.

CONCLUSIONS

Focus group participants have dynamic ideas about how information and related technologies could improve personal health management. Their perspectives, largely absent from the medical literature, provide insights that health professionals may lack. Including a diverse array of individuals throughout the process of designing new technologies will strengthen and shape their evolution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was presented in part at the SGIM Annual Meeting in 2007.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the consumers and health professionals who participated in groups; Lloyd Simon, Barry Orenstein, and Cambridge Focus who convened and led consumer groups; and Nadine Farag and Anna Mattson-DiCecca who contributed research assistance.

This study was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Conflict of Interest

None disclosed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jan Walker RN, MBA, David K. Ahern PhD & Tom Delbanco MD

  2. Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1309 Beacon St, 2nd floor, Boston, MA, 02446, USA

    Jan Walker RN, MBA & Tom Delbanco MD

  3. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    David K. Ahern PhD

  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Lan X. Le MPH

Authors
  1. Jan Walker RN, MBA
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  2. David K. Ahern PhD
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  3. Lan X. Le MPH
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  4. Tom Delbanco MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan Walker RN, MBA.

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Walker, J., Ahern, D.K., Le, L.X. et al. Insights for Internists: “I Want the Computer to Know Who I Am”. J GEN INTERN MED 24, 727–732 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-0973-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-0973-1

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