Survey: Consumers Looking for More Innovation in Healthcare

Many Americans are flagging the need for more innovation in healthcare, although some 41 percent have used innovative technology to help manage their health, according to a new survey from health marketing company Klick Health.

The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted by Maru/Matchbox, found that half of respondents believe technology has positively impacted their personal health and/or wellness, including 45 percent of adults 55+. This could be why health and wellness ranked first out of 18 industries in terms of need for innovation, quickly followed by pharmaceutical and biotech, and hospitals, according to the researchers. However, only 17 percent of consumers perceive health-related industries as being most innovative today—lagging significantly behind consumer electronics, telecommunications, and media and entertainment.

The poll found that more than 90 percent of consumers believe that creative innovation will impact healthcare over the next five years. Almost half said it will help physicians better treat and diagnose patients, 20 percent said it will help patients and their loved ones better manage and care for their health, and 19 percent said it will help prevent disease.

What’s more, survey respondents expect that the number one way through which innovation will help people most in the next five years is helping physicians better treat patients (21 percent). “Even in today’s modern world, people think that healthcare innovation will help physicians better treat patients most,” Keith Liu, Klick senior vice president of products and innovation said in a statement. “This suggests that, when it comes to healthcare, people still want a human connection, empathy, and other benefits that can only be obtained through the patient-physician experience.”

Meanwhile, the data revealed that 41 percent of Americans have used innovative technology to help manage their health. Mobile apps and health and fitness wearables rank as the most popular technologies being used. Neuropsychologist Rex Jung, Ph.D. of the University of New Mexico, said in a statement, “This survey highlights consumers’ adoption of technology as a main healthcare interface. The findings really reflect a shift in the consumer mindset from being passive recipients of healthcare to more active and autonomous individuals who appear eager to try more creative and innovative approaches to managing their health.”