Dec. 5, 2018
Do you know what’s most important to your patients? A recent survey highlighted what matters most to them.
Convenience is a growing priority for today’s healthcare consumers, but key criteria such as care quality indicators, cost, and brand also factor prominently in their decisions, finds an annual survey from Kyruus, Jeff Lagasse writes in Healthcare Finance.
The findings highlight that health systems can improve competitiveness by meeting consumer demand for more timely and convenient access to care, while also resolving gaps in the scheduling process, and delivering a cohesive access experience across the enterprise.
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Consumers commonly reported that they searched for a new provider online, but the majority said they prefer to book appointments by phone.
Convenience-related factors like location and appointment availability continue to feature heavily in consumer decisions about where to obtain care, though insurance accepted and clinical expertise remain the top criteria.
New findings from this year’s survey also underscore the growing interest in alternative care sites, with almost half of respondents reporting that they visited a retail or urgent care clinic in the last year.
Location convenience was the top reason cited for visiting clinics — reinforcing the need for integrated patient access strategies that not only unify access points, but also enable access to different sites of care, Lagasse writes.
