Patient Choice an Increasingly Important Factor in the Age of the "Healthcare Consumer"

Shift toward a focus on the individual consumer experience calls for changes in healthcare

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Sep 10, 2012, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Conventional wisdom in healthcare has traditionally been that patients make few decisions for themselves. This model is changing, though, with health plan members and patients now facing a vastly changing marketplace. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of consumers will be choosing individual insurance policies through new state insurance exchanges; a growing number of employers are offering their workers multiple health plan options; patients are asking their doctors more questions than in the past, and many are going online to learn about treatments, physicians and hospitals; and a growing number of people are utilizing retail clinics and other walk-in medical services.

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The decisions made by the public as "healthcare consumers" are becoming increasingly important, but relatively little is known about what guides their decision making process. This Harris Poll of 2,311 U.S. adults (ages 18 and over) surveyed online between July 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive represents an important first step in exploring this new category of market behavior.

Satisfaction with healthcare visits compared to other consumer services

Among the 84% of Americans who visited a doctor's office within the past year, nearly half (47%) reported being very satisfied with their last medical visit; an additional 36% described themselves as somewhat satisfied.

Medical visit satisfaction appears to rise with both age and education: very satisfied ratings range from 35% among Echo Boomers (ages 18-35) to 56% among Matures (ages 67+), and from 44% among those with a high school education or less to 52% among those with post graduate education.

As might be expected, satisfaction falls short of levels observed for several other industries, particularly those with more of a focus on providing a pleasurable experience: very satisfied ratings are behind those reported for Americans' last restaurant visit (63%), their last online purchase (62%), and their last bank visit (59%). Very satisfied ratings are comparable to those recorded for U.S. adults' last hotel stay (49%), car purchase (47%) and department store visit (44%), and are ahead of those observed for their most recent health insurance company interaction (29%) and last mobile phone store visit (28%).

Dissatisfaction with most recent healthcare provider visits (17%) is comparable to levels observed for recent mobile phone store visits (also 17%) and health insurance company interactions (18%).

Many factors contribute to patients' experiences with their doctors and other healthcare providers. When asked to rate a series of factors on their importance in driving a positive experience, the clear top issue in patients' minds is their doctor's overall knowledge, training and expertise (with 83% rating it very important). Their doctor's ability to access their overall medical history (62%) and time spent with their doctor (59%) are the next most vital factors, while appearance and atmosphere of the doctor's office (26%) and minimizing paperwork (29%) are the least important issues.

Consumer interest in online services outpacing supply

While a small percentage of patients can now make use of online communications services to facilitate interactions with their healthcare providers, far more people are interested in having access to these services than can currently utilize them. For example, the service which is currently most widely available (online access to medical records) is available to 17% of patients – a number greatly outweighed by the percentage without the service available but considering it very important (32%) or important (33%).

Results show a similar disparity for all of the tested services, including (among others) email access to doctors (12% have; 23% very important, 30% important), online appointment setting (11% have, 21% very important, 30% important) and online billing and payments (10% have, 21% very important, 29% important). The greatest gap between desire and fulfillment is seen for an online cost estimator: only 6% of patients report being offered the service now, while just over three in five are without the service and describe it as either very important (26%) or important (36%).

Potential appeal of retail clinics

When asked about interest in using retail clinics to obtain specific medical services, this business model appears to hold strong appeal for several treatment categories. Roughly two-thirds (65%) of patients indicate being likely to utilize such facilities for flu shots (65%), and roughly half indicate being likely to visit a retail clinic seeking care for a cold or flu-like symptoms (53%), a cut or puncture wound (49%), a rash (47%), cholesterol or blood pressure tests (47%), or lab services such as blood sugar testing (47%). Even those treatments least likely to be sought out at a retail clinic still represent reasonably strong niche markets: roughly one-fourth would be likely to go to such a facility for a regular check up regarding a chronic condition (27%), and one-third or more would be likely to go for all other tested treatments.

So What?

These Harris Poll findings have several important implications.

"Customer experience matters in healthcare and will continue to impact purchasing decisions and customer retention," notes Debra Richman, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Business Development & Strategy, Harris Interactive. "The healthcare consumer is increasingly evaluating brand equity, convenience and product or service value as they make choices. In an increasingly competitive healthcare marketplace, a positive customer experience will serve to differentiate health plans and providers."

Also, physicians should be concerned by the disparity between a strong consumer desire for online services and low availability of them at present.

There is also considerable potential demand for services through retail clinics. Other Harris Interactive surveys have shown that their appeal is based on convenience (of location, long hours and being open on weekends), the ability to walk in without an appointment, and price. The ability to accept insurance is also of great importance. These findings are relevant not only to the primary care providers with which retail clinics compete, but to insurers (for whom retail clinics may be a less expensive way of providing care and a viable alternative to emergency rooms) as well.

Finally, customer engagement and satisfaction metrics also have significant implications for health insurers, as interactions with healthcare providers available to them within their plan contribute as much to their overall consumer experience as direct contact with their insurance plan.

TABLE 1
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER VISITS IN PAST YEAR
"How many times in the past year did you visit a health care provider, such as a doctor (general practitioner or specialist), a nurse practitioner, a physician assistant, etc.? If you are not sure, please provide your best estimate."

Base: Seen health care provider at least once in the past year

	No Visits	One or More Visits
	%	%
# visits in past year	16	84