50% of consumers would change physicians for a better online healthcare experience

The report, conducted by NTT DATA Services, included the responses of 1,102 U.S. consumers who stated they want digital customer experience transactions, such as fulling prescriptions and accessing test results, to mimic retail giants like Amazon and Apple.

“Consumer-focused brands with rich, engaging content, interactions and features have changed the landscape in digital customer experience, and healthcare is lagging behind,” said Alan Hughes of NTT DATA Services. “As patients seek seamless care to bring together services related to diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and health promotion, healthcare appears ripe for its own digital transformation.”

Key findings included:

• 78 percent of more “tech-savvy” consumers said the digital customer experience in healthcare needed improvement.
• 50 percent of more “tech-savvy” consumers would leave their current physician for a better digital customer experience.
• 62 percent of respondents stated not being able to accomplish what they wanted to do as the main factor hindering mobile care, followed by non-relevant options at 42 percent.
• 69 percent of respondents expected an insurance company to make navigating affordable care and wellness options easier.
• 81 percent of consumers stated searching for a physician/specialist as the top area for improvement, followed by accessing family health records (80 percent), making appointments (79 percent), accessing test results (76 percent), paying bills (75 percent) and filling prescriptions (74 percent).

“Patient preferences and age demographics will continue to increase the emphasis healthcare organizations place on digital customer experience,” Hughes said. “While digital experience may have a moderate impact on overall healthcare decisions made today, it is changing at an increasing rate. Providers, insurers and pharmacies taking heed of the trend will be best suited to fulfill patient expectations."