Providers and payers are confronting consumers’ newfound expectations of medical convenience, efficiency, and innovative technologies. Those demands are forcing healthcare delivery to be envisioned differently to drive and retain patient volumes. Nineteen recently-funded companies captured the approval of nationwide health consumers in a review of over two hundred start-ups for their potential to deliver in the advent of healthcare consumerism.
Black Book surveyed 650 health consumers through panel partners in Q2 2018. The mean age of respondents was 37.2 years. 44% of survey participants identified themselves as among the Millennial generation or younger.
Ninety-two percent of healthcare consumers surveyed say that improving customer experience should be a top strategic priority for medical providers over the next twelve months, increasing from 71% last year.
Consumers report a confidence that advanced technology is available in Q3 2018 to engage them with digital provider tools (93%), as well as offer a variety of virtual access points (85%), online scheduling (97%), online payment options (92%), and/or provide price transparency (94%). However, only 9% of the collective providers reported the ability to offer these consumer demands successfully in a Black Book Q4 2017 survey of hospitals and physicians.
Ninety percent of patients no longer feel obligated to stay with healthcare providers that don’t deliver an overall satisfactory digital experience. Eighty-eight percent of respondents under age 40 state they will choose their next medical provider based on a strong online presence.
For their next healthcare purchase, 83% of consumers polled will seek providers that offer four fundamental technologies in demand: digital scheduling, online payment options, portal and engagement capabilities, and results reporting tools.
Black Book’s 2011-2016 marketplace study demonstrated that 77% of all new healthcare products failed. Lack of relevance, lack of distinction, inappropriate pricing and jumbled messaging all factor into a brand’s fight to differentiate between consumers and buyers when launching a new healthcare technology product.
