N U M B E R 2 3

Health Information 

Technology and 

Meaningful Use

Policy and practice related to health information 

technology (HIT) is rapidly changing. Implementation of 

the Health Information Technology for Economic and 

Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 has stimulated 

health care providers to adopt “meaningful use” of 

electronic health records (EHRs). The meaningful 

use criteria are intended to increase health care 

provider use of—and patient access to—electronic 

health information. In this HINTS Brief, we present 

perspectives on HIT among both the general public and 

people affected by cancer.

Changes in policy and practice relevant to HIT 

stemming from the HITECH Act aim to improve 

the safety and quality of health care and to enable 

greater patient engagement. Effective implementation 

and meaningful use of EHRs is intended to benefit 

patient-centered processes of care and information 

management. As such, understanding patients’ attitudes 

and preferences on HIT will enable alignment of 

information management and resultant care processes 

with patient expectations and needs.

How important is it to you that your 

health care providers are able to share 

your medical information with each other 

electronically? 

In	2008,

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

of	Americans	said

“very	important”	

48.6%

In	2012,

of	Americans	said

“very	important”	

64.39%

Consumer Perspectives

According to HINTS data collected on HIT in 

2008, nearly half (48.6 percent) of the general adult 

population believed that it is very important for their 

health care providers to be able to share medical 

information with each other electronically. That 

percentage grew to 64.39 percent in 2012. Similarly, 

in 2008, 51.7 percent of the general population 

believed that it is very important that they be able to 

access their medical information electronically. That 

percentage grew to 70.34 percent in 2012. 

How important would it be for you 

to get your own medical information 

electronically? 

In	2008,

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

of	Americans	said

“very	important”	

51.7%

In	2012,

of	Americans	said

“very	important”	

70.34%

Data Source: Health Information National Trends Survey, 2008 and 2012

Quick Facts

• The HITECH Act created financial incentives for 

physicians and other health care providers to 

adopt and make meaningful use of electronic health 

records (EHRs).

• Adoption and meaningful use of EHRs aims to enable 

greater use of health information technology (HIT), 

improve patient care, and engage patients more 

actively in their health and health care. 

• HIT may be particularly useful to and valued by 

those dealing with acute and/or chronic health 

conditions like cancer. 

In this HINTS Brief, we present perspectives on electronic health information exchange 

among the general public and people affected by cancer.
Perspectives on Electronic 

Health Information Exchange 

Among Cancer Survivors

A recent publication compared HINTS 2008 data on 

perceptions of EHIE to data from the LIVESTRONG

(www.livestrong.org) Electronic Health Information Exchange 

Survey. Comparisons across these two data sets allow for an 

examination of differences in perceptions of EHIE by cancer 

status and some indication as to whether perceptions changed 

over time, as the HINTS data were collected in 2008 and the 

LIVESTRONG data were collected in 2010. 

Specifically, while just under half of the general public surveyed 

by HINTS viewed the electronic exchange of information 

among health care providers and the ability to retrieve their 

own health information electronically as “very important” 

in 2008, respondents to the LIVESTRONG survey more 

frequently attached value to these activities, with approximately 

82% of respondents living with cancer as a chronic disease, 

80% of survivors currently in treatment, and 75% of survivors 

post-treatment, and 69% of LIVESTRONG respondents 

with no personal cancer history rating electronic exchange of 

information activities as very important. 

Willingness to share anonymous health information for the 

purpose of research was somewhat higher among respondents 

to the LIVESTRONG survey than among the general 

adult population surveyed in HINTS. Almost a third of the 

HINTS respondents “strongly agreed” to sharing their health 

information for research, while more than half to nearly three 

quarters of respondents to the LIVESTRONG strongly agreed 

with this practice. Persons living with cancer as a chronic illness 

most frequently agreed to use of their medical information for 

research purposes (70 percent). 

Attitudes Regarding Electronic Health 

Information Exchange Among Cancer Survivors 

and the General Public

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 	Survivors	on	Treatment 		Living	with	Cancer	as	a	Chronic	Illness

		Post-treatment	Survivors 		No	Personal	History General	Population

Electronic	Information

Exchange	Between	Providers

Very	Important

Access	to	Information

Electronically

Very	Important

Strongly	Agree	in	Use	of

Information	for	Research

Data sources: Health Information National Trends Survey, 2008 (US Population Estimate); 

LIVESTRONG Electronic Health Information Exchange Survey (LIVESTRONG Survey Sample). 

How Can This Inform Your Work?

• The successful implementation of the HITECH Act requires 

a patient-centered focus; understanding the specific needs 

of your patient population and health care practitioners is 

essential to meaningful use of EHRs.

• Findings from HINTS and the LIVESTRONG survey suggest 

that individuals—especially those who are medically involved—

want to participate in and reap the potential benefits of HIT.

• Patient-centered applications of HIT can encourage greater 

patient engagement, support patient autonomy, and enable 

information sharing among patients, caregivers, and members 

of the health care team.

About HINTS

hints.cancer.gov

HINTS was created to monitor changes in the rapidly evolving field of health communication. 

The survey data can be used to understand how adults use different communication channels to obtain health information for 

themselves and their loved ones. It can also help to create more effective health communication strategies across populations. 

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) fielded the first HINTS in 2002 and 2003, surveying 6,369 Americans. Subsequent surveys 

followed in 2005 (5,586 Americans surveyed) and 2008 (7,674 Americans surveyed). HINTS 4 is currently underway and will survey 

14,000 Americans in four cycles between 2012 and 2014.

HINTS Briefs provide a snapshot of noteworthy, data-driven research findings. They introduce population-level estimates for specific 

questions in the survey and summarize significant research findings that are a result of analyzing how certain demographic characteristics 

influence specific outcomes. Many Briefs summarize research findings from recent peer-reviewed journal articles using HINTS data.

For More Information on Cancer

• Call the NCI Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER

• Visit http://cancer.gov

• Order NCI publications at https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/ncipubs/

• Visit Facebook.com/cancer.gov and http://www.youtube.com/ncigov

References Used in This HINTS Brief

Beckjord EB, Rechis R, Nutt S, Shulman L, Hesse BW. What do people affected by cancer think about 

electronic health information exchange? Results from the 2010 LIVESTRONG Electronic Health 

Information Exchange Survey and the 2008 Health Information National Trends Survey. J Oncol Pract. 

2011 Jul;7(4):237-41.

Rechis R, Beckjord EB. The Promise of Electronic Health Information Exchange: A LIVESTRONG

Report. In: LIVESTRONG, (ed). Austin: LIVESTRONG; 2011. www.livestrong.org/pdfs/3-0/EHI_Report

February 2013