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Digital technology is promoted as a way to improve healthcare access and quality and to lower medical care costs. Researchers used health behavior survey data from a nationally representative sample of Medicare recipients to assess use of digital technologies among 7609 community-dwelling adults (mean age, 75) from 2011 through 2014. About 4300 participants (57%) were still alive and available for follow-up in 2014.
In 2011, most participants used cell phones (76%) and computers (64%), but a much smaller proportion used the Internet (43%); <20% managed their banking or shopping on the Internet, and even fewer used digital technologies to obtain health information (16%), fill prescriptions (8%), contact clinicians (7%), or handle health insur…