Few patients use health IT tools to connect with their doctors and access their personal health data, according to a new survey from Salesforce, MobiHealthNews reports.

The survey polled about 1,700 U.S. adults.

Findings

The survey found that just 21% of respondents said they use the Web to access their health data. Meanwhile, 10% said they use e-mail and 40% view the data in person.

Further, the survey found that only 36% of respondents said they use electronic health records to keep track of their data, compared with 28% who said they use a paper record.

Regarding appointment scheduling, the survey found that:

• Less than 10% of respondents said they use the Internet, email or text messaging;
• 25% said they schedule appointments in person; and
• 76% said they schedule appointments over the phone.

When it comes to appointment and prescription refill reminders:

• 6% of respondents said they receive text messages from their doctor;
• 22% said they receive email reminders; and
• 48% said they receive phone calls.

According to the survey, millennials were more receptive to using health IT to connect with their providers. For example:

• 71% said they want their doctor to use a mobile application to schedule appointments, share health data and manage preventive care; and
• 60% reported an interest in using telehealth in place of in-person visits (Comstock, MobiHealthNews, 2/12).