The Computer Will See You Now: Overcoming Barriers to Adoption of Computer-Assisted History Taking (CAHT) in Primary Care

Abstract

Patient health information is increasingly collected through multiple modalities, including electronic health records, wearables, and connected devices. Computer-assisted history taking could provide an additional channel to collect highly relevant, comprehensive, and accurate patient information while reducing the burden on clinicians and face-to-face consultation time. Considering restrictions to consultation time and the associated negative health outcomes, patient-provided health data outside of consultation can prove invaluable in health care delivery. Over the years, research has highlighted the numerous benefits of computer-assisted history taking; however, the limitations have proved an obstacle to adoption. In this viewpoint, we review these limitations under 4 main categories (accessibility, affordability, accuracy, and acceptability) and discuss how advances in technology, computing power, and ubiquity of personal devices offer solutions to overcoming these.