Dec. 29, 2021
In September 2021, Press Ganey surveyed 1,000+ consumers to unlock insights into how they approach their journey to care.
Here are key findings:
Digital drives choice: Patients rely on digital resources 2.2x more than provider referrals when choosing a healthcare provider.
Referral leakage: Some 84 percent would not see a referred provider if they were rated under 4 stars.
The rise of virtual health: Over one-third of patients have used telemedicine in the past year—a 337.6 percent increase since 2019.
Patient as customer: Assuming quality care, patients rate “customer service” (70.8 percent) and “communication” (63.4 percent) as more important than even “bedside manner” when it comes to a 5-star experience.
Shopping for healthcare: On average, consumers use three different websites during their healthcare research process and read five and one-half reviews before making a decision.
Online search: When searching for care online, 57.4 percent of consumers prefer the convenience of mobile devices and 41.6 percent prefer to use a laptop or desktop.
Other Articles to Explore
While search engines are the most utilized digital resource (65.4 percent), consumers use an average of 2.7 different sites in their care-seeking journey. Compared to 2019, there has been a 22.8 percent decline in the use of search engines and, in contrast, a 53.7 percent increase in the usage of healthcare review sites (e.g., Healthgrades and Vitals). More consumers this year are also using content websites as well as non-healthcare review sites. These trends indicate a steady convergence between healthcare and retail behavior, with consumers increasingly turning to digital resources like online reviews to inform and validate their decisions.
>>Click HERE to access the full survey results from Press Ganey>>
