Empowering Patients Through Digital Health: Insights from Two HIMSS Community Surveys on Wearables, Apps and AI

Executive Summary

This whitepaper examines the findings of two HIMSS committee-led surveys, Patient Voices: Your Experience with Health Technology (see Appendix), on how the public and patients use digital tools for health management. It highlights widespread adoption of wearables and health apps, though data sharing with providers remains limited. The paper discusses the importance of digital health literacy, techquity (technology + equity), and trust, and explores the role of AI in enhancing data accessibility and patient-provider interactions. Challenges like data privacy, accuracy, and technology awareness are addressed, with recommendations for healthcare systems to improve technology design and infrastructure to maximize the benefits of digital health for all patients and the populations they serve.