Consumerism in Healthcare

As consumerism dominates today’s retail world, it is also making its way into the healthcare industry. People are no longer patients, but rather consumers buying the best health for themselves. They are educated, highly motivated and want value in what they pay for.

With patients looking for current technology and in-demand services, the healthcare industry needs to look into catering to the modern world.

New Approach to Healthcare for Patients

Patients are beginning to approach their health much like they would when purchasing a product or service. Their health and who takes care of them is a service in itself, so why can’t they shop around to get the most for their money?

As technology evolves, so does the way it is designed, built, marketed and sold to consumers, leading them to educate themselves on what they need and where they can get the best value.

Much like any other industry, healthcare has many doctors and specialists providing and offering a variety of services at different costs. So who provides the best care for the lowest price? Does the price of the service reflect the care given? Patients want more for their money and physicians and healthcare providers offering great services that others might be lacking are highly sought out at the moment.

What Do Patients Really Want?

Patients want a way to approach their health much like they do every other aspect of their lives; At the touch of a button, on the go, where and when they please. They want appealing services, personalized care and to ultimately feel they have power over their health.

Services and tools that aid physicians in empowering their patients are going a long way. Telemedicine, for example, provides patients with:

• Extended practice hours
• Weekend appointments
• Virtual visits that they can take during a work break
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Preventive services

In fact, the popularity of telehealth services is at an alltime high. According to the American Well 2017 Consumer Survey, the number of patients willing to switch to a provider that offers video visits has gone from 17 million in 2015 to over 50 million patients in 2017.

Going beyond the valuable time saved by simply connecting to their doctor remotely, patients see multiple benefits to this service. According to the same survey, patients would most like to use telehealth services for the following:

Telemedicine is proving to be a valuable competitive advantage for many physicians and practices that offer these services, among others, to their patients. When choosing to outsource such a service, they allow physicians to retain and gain new patients, without changing their workflow.