Americans Predict the Future of Healthcare Will Be Out-of-this-World, Literally
iPrescribe Survey Predictions Include Remote Surgery Using Robotics, Implanted Health Sensors, and Healthcare for Space Travelers
ROCKVILLE, Md., March 14, 2023 – Americans have big ideas for how healthcare will be delivered in the future, with over two-thirds expecting routine care to be provided remotely with mobile tech within 30 years, according to research by iPrescribe, the mobile e-prescribing app by health technology pioneer DrFirst.
The survey of 1,023 consumers asked participants to predict the future of healthcare services available by 2053 and what services they hope will be routinely available.
Americans’ expectations center around technology for remote care, including:
Routine care provided via remote and mobile technology (64%)
Surgery performed remotely anywhere in the world via robotics (41%)
Sensors that can be implanted in patients’ bodies to send real-time health data to doctors (37%)
Health services for humans who are traveling in space, on the moon, or even on Mars (31%)
The survey also reveals what healthcare consumers most hope to see in the future, with a wish list focusing on convenience, as well as advances in remote or mobile technology, including:
24-hour turnaround on all test results (53%)
At-home physician visits (47%)
At-home blood tests (42%)
Drone drop-off or pick-up services for blood tests, medications, and more (39%)
At-home radiologic diagnostics, such as mammograms, x-rays, and ultrasounds (37%)
Real-time sharing of fitness-tracking data with physicians (34%)
Are these advancements light-years away? Some yes, but others are closer to becoming a reality, according to DrFirst Chief Medical Officer Colin Banas, MD, MHA. With nearly half of Americans wanting at-home physician visits, Banas points out that the availability of these services is already growing.
“Many healthcare organizations are already offering house calls or considering doing so,” said Banas, noting CVS Health’s pending acquisition of Signify Health. “With this level of industry interest by CVS and others, your doctor could be making house calls sooner than you think, with full capability to do blood tests and other diagnostic screenings in a few years, not decades.”
Methodology
A national online survey of 1,023 U.S. consumers, ages 18 and over, was conducted by Propeller Insights on behalf of iPrescribe by DrFirst in October 2022. Survey responses were nationally representative of the U.S. population for age, gender, region, and ethnicity. The maximum margin of sampling error was +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
About iPrescribe and DrFirst
iPrescribe by DrFirst is the industry-leading mobile prescribing app used by doctors, dentists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to quickly and safely prescribe and renew prescriptions anytime, anywhere. Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at touchpoints of care to improve patient outcomes. We create unconventional solutions that solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges faced in healthcare. We unite the Healthiverse—the interconnected healthcare universe—by providing our clients with real-time access to the information they need, exactly when and how they need it, so patients get the best care possible. DrFirst solutions are used by nearly 325,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 220,000 prescribers, 70,000 pharmacies, 300 EHRs and health information systems, and 1,500 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.DrFirst.com and follow @DrFirst.
Media contact:
Alessandra Nagy
alessandra@bospar.com