Healthcare equity barriers: Questions of access and security

Abstract

The rapid growth of mobile technology to improve healthcare conditions, support patient engagement, and enhance patient education is expected to continue its upward trend. Physicians feel that simplified access to health information is one of the greatest benefits of technology. This research connects the growth of patients' healthcare data access via mobile applications and the growth of access to wireless communication. This article proposes the following questions to investigate potential healthcare equity barriers: “What is the available Wi-Fi coverage?” and “What types of security protocols are used in the wireless access points?” The results indicate that there is a difference in community access to available Wi-Fi coverage. This difference could influence healthcare equity barriers. In addition, communities had identical security protocol usage. This indicates an opportunity to improve knowledge of security protocols and maintenance of access points, as well as influences on healthcare equity barriers.