e-Medicine and the Digital Divide

According to a June 2009 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 61 percent of American adults look for health information online. Dubbed “e-Patients,” these individuals use the Internet to learn about health topics of interest to them or their friends and family. Be it something as benign as a splinter or life-threatening as Swine Flu (H1N1), the Internet is seen as a source for reliable health information. Of course, the Internet can’t replace doctors, but it can enable users to make informed health care decisions and thereby encourage a more participatory doctor-patient relationship.

WebMD is one of the most well-known health information portals, attracting 17.3 million unique visitors in July 2008. Social networking site Patients Like Me functions as a support group and offers a platform for sharing treatment experiences. Public agencies such as local health departments, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sources for the most up-to-date health information and scientific data. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, medical journals, and medical atlases can also be used to facilitate health care conversations. Beyond that, virtual tours of medical facilities and physician video libraries like VideoMD can be tapped. And clinic directories can be found on sites like the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics. Excellent resources…if you have access.

People who are prone to suffer from serious health conditions generally have little or no access to online health care information. Vulnerable non-users are more likely to be poor, less educated, elderly or chronically ill. And they tend to be from historically underrepresented groups. Some are very young, uninsured or underinsured while others may be out of work, homeless, disabled or have limited-English proficiency. Often, these individuals live in medically-underserved rural or inner city areas and lack access to online health resources. All of this can exacerbate health disparities.

Bridging the digital divide related to health care information begins with extending reliable, affordable broadband to vulnerable populations while also supplying Internet-ready computers. Likewise, collaborative efforts are needed to provide computer skills training with emphasis on strategies for accessing health information online and using chronic disease management tools. It’s also essential that health content be accurate and multi-lingual. Copyright restrictions and pay-for-use fees that stem the dissemination of health information should, likewise, be reassessed. It’s equally important that findings from health disparities research be used to craft e-health policy. Daunting as these tasks may seem, as a nation, we are on the cusp of a new era in health care, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers an unparalleled opportunity to address digital divide issues. The challenge is to turn that opportunity into action.