Study: Physicians welcome patient self-tracking

Physicians are welcoming patient self-tracking as a means to capture first-hand data on the conditions of their patients to improve overall care, according to a recent study by the healthcare market research and advisory firm Manhattan Research.

In a 2013 online survey of 2,950 U.S. physicians of more than 25 specialties, 70 percent reported that at least one of their patients is providing them with health measurement data. The methods of delivering that data is primarily low-tech, such as a patient handwriting the data or supplying the physician with a printout of their information, according to the firm’s Taking the Pulse® U.S. 2013 study.

Physician attitudes about patients tracking their data were resoundly positive; nearly three-quarters of physicians believe that patient self-tracking is tied to better health outcomes, according to a release on the study.