Consumers

This Health Affairs article by Carman et al. finds consumers hold crucial misconceptions about evidence-based health care and most believe that more care means better care.

Small and user-friendly, smartphones are quickly being adopted by consumers and providers, who have a large and growing array of health- and health-care related applications to choose from.

This snapshot provides highlights from a survey among adults in California ages 18 and older with chronic conditions.

This study explores how to improve health care services for low-income workers. The study asks consumers how important a service is versus how satisfied they are in that same area, and looks for gaps where a market opportunity might exist.

This bilingual guide in Spanish and English is available for free to anyone looking for basic information on health insurance, nutrition, and other public programs, as well as for health care workers and community-based organizations in their outreach efforts.

Increasingly, Californians are trying to control medical costs by neglecting needed care (58% of those in fair or poor health) and asking for cheaper medications (31%). This is leading to more hospitalizations and emergency department use.

Comparing individual health insurance plans is so confusing that many people remain uninsured. CHCF commissioned consumer testing of a standardized format — similar to a nutrition label — that allows shoppers to compare plan benefits, costs, and value.

Surveys suggest that three out of four patients want some sort of online connection with their medical provider. This report examines how patient-oriented HIT is evolving by looking at clinical settings in five regions, including California.

This snapshot looks at consumer use of the Internet as a source of health and ratings information. Overall, although many look for information, few take action based on what they have seen.

This iHealth Report takes a close look at social media, who uses it and why, what its impact is on the health of consumers, and how health care organizations can take advantage of its uses to manage the care of their populations.

This snapshot takes a look at chronic illness through the perspectives and experiences of those living with one or more chronic conditions, providing data on health status, collaboration of care, affordability, and more.

This survey provides an overview of California consumers' adoption, use, and perception of health information technology.

This publication explores the technological and legal landscape governing personal health information, as well as key issues that must be addressed for consumers to have an appropriate level of control over their own health records.

This issue brief offers insights on the values and coverage priorities held by a subset of uninsured Californians who might be directly affected by coverage expansion policy proposals.

The Breast Care Center at UCSF designed an application build a customized care plan for patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Such patient-centered PHRs may remind a patient to take medications, provide tailored decision prompts to help people understand and adhere to treatment regimens, or transmit data to providers.