Welcome to today’s on-demand world where you can tap a phone once and get any product your heart desires, book a flight at the best possible price in under five minutes, or get any food item delivered to your door – all without moving and all from your phone. Now imagine a retailer, an airline or a restaurant that didn’t offer this seamless digital experience. Regardless of how well their product or service is, they might not keep your business.
So, why are consumers expected to react in any different way in healthcare? The short answer is, they aren’t.
While many healthcare providers may think simply delivering high-quality medical care with an excellent bedside manner is the formula for building a successful practice, a growing set of evidence suggests that the newest metric their patients are judging them on is digital experience. From confusing, code-laden paper bills to opacity around the actual cost of care, the antiquated processes that many healthcare consumers face simply don’t cut it any longer. And, as the next generation of healthcare consumers takes over, providers must improve how they engage with patients, shifting to digital platforms that align with the expectations set in all other consumer industries.
Now, there’s new data to reinforce the urgency. More than half of healthcare consumers are frustrated with their provider’s lack of technology, and 41 percent report they’d stop going to their healthcare provider all together because of a lackluster digital experience. In fact, one in five already have.
For many providers, the consumer “digital experience” is foreign territory. Historically, they’ve focused their patient experience investments on upgrading medical-care technology or improving their team’s bedside manner. In-person communication and snail mail are still the norm.
What many doctors are failing to realize is that patients are not just judging providers on the quality of care they provide; they’re also evaluating them on the seamless experiences they offer outside of the exam room. And while we are not completely replacing the physician-patient relationship for a digital one, providers must improve their patient’s digital experiences to retain their loyalty, particularly when it comes to the next generation of healthcare consumers.
Compared to healthcare consumers 65 and older, consumers aged 18-24 are three times as likely to consider switching providers over a poor digital experience and are four times as likely to already have made the switch. They are also more likely to share their experiences online, with more than half of these younger consumers consulting online reviews before selecting a provider, and one in five having written a negative online review because of a poor digital experience.
These generations – and all the digitally-native generations that follow – expect a friction-free digital pathway that allows them to complete tasks and solve problems with just a few clicks or swipes. If healthcare providers want to be competitive, it’s time they strategize, prioritize and optimize for this new digital metric.
Here are a few priority areas where they can start:
Employ digital approaches that help soften patient cost concerns
With outdated communication practices, unreadable descriptions of services, the constant back and forth between payers and providers on expected out-of-pocket costs, it’s no wonder that one-third (34 percent) of consumers have had a medical bill go to collections. Communicating with patients where they are – on digital platforms — can actually improve clarity and make it easier for patients to understand what, how and when to pay. In addition, digital engagement can help them understand beforehand what likely out-of-pocket responsibilities are going to be.
Help healthcare consumers understand cost responsibility and their options
A staggering 94 percent of healthcare consumers are worried about their healthcare expenses over the next five years. While a significant portion of the healthcare bills that slip into collections are due to simple miscommunications, there’s no doubt that the inability to pay is still a huge factor. Providers need to help patients understand their options while also applying more creativity and flexibility to payment plans, which 83 percent of patients report they’d welcome.
When possible, providers should also look to digitally consolidate bills or bundle together costs from an episode of care. This is especially true for large health systems that might have a patient who sees multiple specialists within their system. Yes, it’s true that large health systems work with many subcontracted providers and independent groups, but often the patient doesn’t understand these nuances. If Amazon can consolidate a bill for multiple independent retails, healthcare organizations can offer a solution as well.
Think like a retail executive to create seamless, end-to-end digital experiences
When retail began moving heavily to e-commerce, large retailers had digital consultants come in and rethink the entire shopping experience. Similarly, healthcare executives are starting to rethink their patient experience from a digital perspective, but the pace of transformation is not meeting consumer demand.
The data show that patient frustration doesn’t just start aftercare is delivered; it’s almost equally distributed throughout the entire process. Pre-visit engagement such as insurance capture and co-pay collection are ultimately connected to the post-visit payment experience, so it’s incumbent on healthcare providers to map out the patient journey – just like retailers map out their customer journeys – then think through the same path on digital platforms.
At the end of the day, the talk about healthcare digital transformation isn’t just theory any longer – it’s a business imperative. If healthcare providers want to continue growing and collect on the services they provide, they need to adapt.
Photo: LumineImages, Getty Images
