Table 9.
Seniors’ opinions on the effect of technology on ease of health care communication and educationa .
| Health care–related tasks | All | By age group | By race/ethnicity | ||||||
| 65-79 | 65-74 | 75-79 | Non-Hispanic white | Black | Latino | Filipino | Chinese | ||
| Get information about your health plan benefits and costs, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 46.8 | 50.2 | 38.9b | 46.1 | 48.0 | 47.2 | 53.7 | 50.5 |
|
|
Harder | 16.8 | 13.8 | 23.7c | 15.0 | 20.9d | 23.4e | 29.8f | 21.1f |
| Communicate with your doctor, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 73.3 | 76.5 | 65.9g | 76.1 | 58.2f | 63.2f | 61.4f | 69.3 |
|
|
Harder | 11.8 | 9.6 | 17.0g | 10.1 | 16.7d | 18.7f | 24.4f | 14.6 |
| Ability to get lab test results, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 74.8 | 77.5 | 68.6b | 77.2 | 60.0f | 65.6f | 64.9d | 74.8 |
|
|
Harder | 11.1 | 9.1 | 15.7b | 9.5 | 16.6e | 17.1f | 21.0f | 14.2 |
| Get information you want about health conditions and treatments, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 59.5 | 62.6 | 52.4b | 60.3 | 53.3h | 57.3 | 56.4 | 62.0 |
|
|
Harder | 12.9 | 10.6 | 18.2g | 11.0 | 18.0d | 18.4d | 26.8f | 18.3h |
| Get health education to help you improve your health or reduce risks, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 57.6 | 61.5 | 48.2g | 58.3 | 52.5 | 54.3 | 56.6 | 57.8 |
|
|
Harder | 12.4 | 10.1 | 17.8b | 10.5 | 16.8d | 20.0f | 25.6f | 17.1h |
| Manage your health care, % | |||||||||
|
|
Easier | 61.7 | 66.2 | 50.8g | 63.2 | 53.5d | 56.5i | 54.4h | 61.7 |
|
|
Harder | 12.1 | 10.0 | 17.3b | 10.5 | 15.5c | 19.0f | 23.9f | 15.4 |
aSeniors were asked whether the health plan’s shift toward using its website and patient portal has made it easier or harder for them to obtain information and communicate with their doctors. Analyses were restricted to people who expressed an opinion (including that there had been no change) about their ability to perform this task. Cell percentages are based on weighted data for everyone in the age or race/ethnic group. Because people did not indicate opinions about all tasks, unweighted cell Ns vary; they are provided in Multimedia Appendix 4. P values ≥.055 are not reported. See Multimedia Appendix 3 for detailed P values.
bSignificantly differs (P<.01) from 65-74 age group after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex.
cSignificantly differs (P<.05) from 65-74 age group after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex.
dSignificantly differs (P<.01) from non-Hispanic white after controlling for age group and sex.
eSignificantly differs (P=.050) from non-Hispanic white after controlling for age group and sex.
fSignificantly differs (P<.001) from non-Hispanic white after controlling for age group and sex.
gSignificantly differs (P<.001) from 65-74 age group after controlling for race/ethnicity and sex.
hSignificantly differs (P<.05) from non-Hispanic white after controlling for age group and sex.
iSignificantly differs (P=.053) from non-Hispanic white after controlling for age group and sex.