A new report finds that healthcare consumers nationwide want health systems caring for them to become more involved in wellness efforts and providing virtual communications with physicians, among other elements. And consumers’ demands come at a time of data opportunities and challenges, as the report, from the Chicago-based Kaufman Hall consulting firm, finds.
Indeed, Kaufman Hall managing director Dan Clarin finds, in “2022 State of the Healthcare Consumer Report: Who Will Help Consumers Put the Pieces Together?” that “Seventy percent of people”—among 3,500 consumers surveyed—“want health systems to be more actively involved with their own health management activities. Specifically, people want health systems to be more involved in supporting healthy eating (41 percent), paying for exercise equipment or programs (40 percent), or providing virtual physician-to-patient communications to discuss symptoms (39 percent).”
And consumers are pretty well engaged already. As the press release posted to Kaufman Hall’s website on Tuesday, September 27, announcing the publication of the report, noted, “Overall, 34 percent of respondents manage their diet and nutrition, 31 percent wear fitness trackers, 29 percent engage in physical health activities, 22 percent receive mental health services, 18 percent practice self-care activities, 12 percent use at-home diagnostics, and 12 percent use alternative therapies. However, the health management activities that consumers frequently engage in are not always integrated into a medical visit. The report finds that while 59 percent of consumers that use mental health services do so at a provider’s direction, only 43 percent of consumers that use a wearable device do so at the direction of a healthcare provider.”
The report notes that “Consumer respondents to this year’s survey regularly engaged in seven health management activities. The percent of consumers who engage in specific activities always or often ranges by activity”—as cited in the paragraph above—and that “Consumers under age 45 participate in eight health management activities on average, while consumers over age 45 years old participate in five health management activities. Younger consumers also spend more on average than consumers over the age of 45. How consumer activities are financed varies widely; 55 percent of the time, consumers pay for fitness wearables out of pocket, compared to only 34 percent for mental health activities. Consumer respondents use a variety of ways to finance health management activities, depending on the activity and their insurance status. Overall, financing ranged from 41-45 percent of consumers paying fully out of pocket for those with commercial insurance and from 22-29 percent paying fully out of pocket for Medicaid consumers,” the report notes.
“As people adopt behaviors that make them more mindful of their health and wellbeing, they are increasingly interested in integrating those activities with their healthcare experience,” said Clarin, the report’s lead author. “Unfortunately, the health management activities consumers engage in are often disconnected from their clinical care. By listening to their consumers and integrating their insights, health systems have an opportunity to better meet evolving consumer needs.”
One complicating factor of tailoring healthcare to consumers, say report authors, is the narrowing of access to healthcare services. According to the report, nearly four in 10 people who receive health insurance through their employer have access to just one plan (38 percent) and 33 percent are offered two options. Fewer insurance choices mean fewer affordable options for consumers and clinicians to design the type of healthcare experience patients may want, with services covered by the plan.
The report also quotes provider leaders, who comment on some of the challenges involved in this area. On the one hand, it quotes Grant Davies, CEO of Solis Mammography, who notes that consumer health information in general is often fragmented, limiting its value in helping clinicians make decisions. “[Consumer healthcare activity] is tragically disconnected,” Davies notes. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of traction around aggregating all this health information for an individual who may have cryotherapy, a virtual doctor visit, and a pharmaceutical prescription. How does that all come together with wearables and all the rest of the picture?” And the report quotes Jennifer Bollinger, senior vice president and chief consumer officer at the New Orleans-based Ochsner Health, as stating that “Health systems need to be willing to ingest some of the data [from wearables and other consumer health devices]. What’s our responsibility?” she asks.
