Zocdoc Reveals 2024 Patient Preferences and Trends in Second Annual What Patients Want Report

Zocdoc sheds light on patients' evolving healthcare choices and behaviors in 2024 via an analysis of its marketplace bookings

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Zocdoc, the leading healthcare marketplace that helps millions of patients find and instantly book care, is today releasing its 2024 What Patients Want Report, an in-depth analysis of what patients are seeking when it comes to their care. In its second annual edition, Zocdoc's report includes findings on how social media may be influencing health behavior, trends in in-person care, the characteristics patients are using to vet their providers, and much more.

Millions of people visit Zocdoc each month to search for healthcare providers and instantly book appointments. They can choose from more than 100,000 providers across more than 200 specialties and nearly 20,000 insurance plans. Every minute, patients are indicating what they want when it comes to their care via the clicks and choices they make through Zocdoc. The What Patients Want Report analyzes Zocdoc's unique and robust data set to surface new insights into American patients' preferences and behaviors.

"Given the breadth and depth of services patients book through Zocdoc nationwide, we have unmatched insights into Americans' healthcare choices and priorities," said Zocdoc founder and CEO Oliver Kharraz, MD. "With this report, we're proud to amplify patients' voices and choices to help shed light on what matters most when it comes to their care."

This year's What Patients Want Report identifies both the patient behaviors that remain steady since 2023, along with new trends that are emerging:

Social's stake in consumer wellness trends

A review of this year's booking data reveals some fascinating connections between patient behavior and prevalent wellness and cosmetic social media trends:

• GLP-1 bookings surged: 2024 saw a +71% increase in semaglutide consultation bookings for men and +50% increase for women.
• Sleepy girls (and boys): Bookings with sleep medicine specialists increased by 30% for women and 26% for men, potentially influenced by the viral "sleepy girl mocktail."
• A jump in jaw appointments: As "mewing" made rounds on social this year, appointments for jaw pain increased by 87% for men and 71% for women.
• Blue light bookings abound: This year there was a +200% increase in blue light therapy bookings among women.
• Veneer volume on the rise: Veneer appointments increased by about 15% across genders compared to 2023.

'Tis the Season

Notably, 2024 saw bookings shift in seasonality, with busy seasons for appointments moving largely from the new year (January and March) in 2023 to the back-to-school months (August and September) in 2024. Other seasonal findings include:

• Check-up time: July and August both saw 12% more appointments with primary care doctors vs. the average month.
• Summer stressors?: Patients booked 19% more mental health appointments in August vs. the average month.
• Skin care in the sunny months: Patients booked 14% and 12% more dermatology appointments in July and August respectively vs. the average month.

The doctor will see you IRL

According to the report, in-person care continues to win out over virtual care: Only 12% of all appointments booked in 2024 were virtual (dropping to only 5%, when excluding mental health bookings), compared to 18% in 2023, representing a virtual bookings decrease of 33% year to year.

As most other specialties continue to see a return to in-person care, mental health stands out as the notable exception:

• 79% of psychiatrist bookings were for virtual visits
• 74% of psychologist bookings were for virtual visits

Demographically, younger patients are still more open to virtual care across all appointment types, with 18-42 year-olds being most open to virtual visits (16%). Those aged 59+ are half as likely to use virtual care, only booking virtual visits 7-8% of the time. 

Wellness can't wait

Consistent with 2023, speed to care is one of the most important factors for patients. On Zocdoc, nearly 1 in 3 appointments in 2024 took place within 2 days of booking, and half of all appointments took place within 4 days. Some specialty-specific highlights include:

• 80% of bookers saw urgent care providers within 24 hours
• Over 50% saw orthopedic surgeons within 4 days

Notably, Zocdoc accelerates access to care by orders of magnitude, when compared to the national average wait times. According to AMN/Merritt Hawkins' 2022 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times, the average wait time to see a physician in the United States is 26 days.

Finding the right fIt

The report also found that patients are relying on details like photos, languages spoken, and reviews to "pre-meet" their doctors to inform their selections:

• Providers with four or more office photos received 5.8x as many bookings (up from 4.8x last year).
• Providers who listed two languages on their profile got nearly 2x as many bookings, and providers who listed three or more languages got 3.5x as many bookings (up from 3x in 2023).
• Providers with more than 50 reviews received 10x more bookings relative to providers with one to nine reviews, and providers with 100+ reviews received 27x more bookings relative to providers with one to nine reviews

About Zocdoc
Zocdoc is the leading healthcare marketplace that aims to help every patient find and book every type of care. Each month, millions of patients search Zocdoc's marketplace via Zocdoc.com or the free Zocdoc app to find in-network doctors, see their real-time availability, and instantly book in-person or virtual appointments, and more. With a mission to give power to the patient, Zocdoc delivers the seamless healthcare experience patients expect and deserve.

SOURCE Zocdoc