JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

To make digital health care as inclusive as possible, healthcare systems can adopt approaches to identify patients who require support to access and use digital health tools. We define digital health readiness as a construct combining digital health literacy assessment with available data on prior experience with health system technology that could identify which patients need support to participate in digital health care. Digital health readiness incorporates how prepared, experienced, and equipped an individual person is to use a particular digital health tool. Approaches for comprehensively defining and assessing patient-level digital health readiness could become central to health system and payor operations. Creating effective and holistic assessments for digital health readiness will ensure that these resources are delivered to those who need them most. More systematic approaches to support patients with low digital health readiness could ensure that assessments are actionable for clinicians and health systems.