Recent surveys from the Pew Research Center indicate that a majority of U.S. adults use technology to engage in their health care:

• 63% of adult cell phone owners now use their phones to go online, a figure that has doubled since 2009. In addition, 34% of these cell internet users say that most of their online use is via cell phone. That means 21% of all adult cell phone owners—about 1 in 5—now do the majority of their online browsing via mobile phone, not another device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

• 69% of U.S. adults track a health indicator like weight, diet, exercise routine, or symptom. Of those, half track “in their heads,” one-third keep notes on paper, and one in five use technology to keep tabs on their health status.

• 35% of U.S. adults have gone online to figure out a medical condition; of these, half followed…