Health digital inclusion and patient-centered care readiness in the USA

Patient-centered care is a relatively new form of healthcare that empowers people when they receive services, but patients must get ready for the active roles they are going to play in order to participate. Based on a literature review, this study conceptualizes that patient-centered care readiness has two basic capabilities: (1) health information access and (2) coordination and communication. The development of these capabilities, leading to the ultimate objective of patient choice and empowerment, depends on the status of health digital inclusion. To maximize the benefits of patient-centered care and reduce the risk of health disparity, it is necessary to assess the patient-centered care readiness of a population, especially to find out who is at a disadvantage. Using the 2009 U.S. National Health Interview Survey data, this study conducts logistic regression and classification tree analyses to predict the two capabilities with eleven physiological, population, socioeconomic, and healthcare-related variables. The results suggest that there is an uneven development of patient-centered care readiness in the country, especially for those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, such as minority people and senior citizens. The findings provide researchers and practitioners the insights on how to cross the gap and prepare the whole nation for the transition. © 2013 by the Association for Information Systems.