2011 Recap: Meet your healthcare consumer
Recently, I came across Deloitte’s 2011 Survey of Health Care Consumers and as a Deloitte alumnus, I enjoyed seeing how the firm is tracking industry changes from the eyes of a patient.
Since 2008, Deloitte has asked 4,000 adults living in the United States questions about insurance, primary care, wellness programs, traveling for healthcare, and care as it relates to race, ethnicity and gender. Results were produced into six separate fact sheets, and I encourage each of you to take a look as you gear up for a new year.
The most interesting aspect was the clear evidence pointing towards an evolution from patient to healthcare consumer. I believe there’s a profound difference. The healthcare industry hasn’t exactly been defined by choice in the past, mostly because the “goods” and “services” are central human needs. Today, the advent of the healthcare consumer has changed the game. In 2011, patients became healthcare consumers by showing less loyalty to their primary care providers and by shopping around for cost and quality reasons.
Clearly, choice – which is at the core of consumerism – in healthcare is alive and well.
According to Deloitte, the hospital of the future will have to work harder to retain its healthcare consumers. Patients, particularly those that are healthy or members of Gen Y are less satisfied and loyal to their primary care providers. Of the 15 percent of Deloitte respondents who switched physicians in 2011, 15 percent did so because of dissatisfaction with their physician’s care or dissatisfaction with the service of the office staff. The patient’s experience is no longer tied only to healthcare outcomes, but to the entire experience surrounding care.
While older patients are happier with their care and switch providers less often, if they do shop around, fees are the most likely reason why. Cost is also the reason why the majority of healthcare consumers don’t commit to a primary care provider, but a significant number say they would be open to having one coordinate and actively manage all of their medical care if the option were available – a hopeful sign for the future of medical homes and accountable care models.
Deloitte also reported positive results for those with chronic illness or more than one condition. These healthcare consumers are more likely to have a primary care provider than those without, likely helping to reduce unnecessary ER visits and expensive care. Patients with insurance and the highest incomes are also likely to have a primary care provider; 87 percent of insured healthcare consumers say they have a primary care provider, while 46 percent without insurance do not. Additionally, 90 percent of individuals with a household income of $100,000 or more also have a primary care provider.
These findings naturally offer some key takeaways that I think are necessary to consider as you finalize plans for reaching your healthcare consumers in 2012. First, know your patients. Understand the dynamics that drive men, women, and different age groups to access care in different ways. Rely on your hospital’s data and analytics to evaluate your population and strategize around them. If your population is dominated by Gen Y patients, find ways to gauge their experience and incorporate their feedback into product development and process enhancements. If you have a high uninsured population, develop physician outreach programs to build loyalty and consistency across their care. As the reform initiatives take hold, the formerly uninsured are likely to have coverage. Building loyalty within this subset of the population will help improve the overall perception of your services. If you are able to find ways to build patient loyalty to your providers, healthcare consumers will be loyal to your brand.
And second, knowing that cost is a huge influence on where and if patients access care, make it your goal to improve transparency, education and communication around the topic. Staff education becomes paramount to a successful strategy. At the end of the day, interactions with support staff can be as important as the interactions in the care setting.
Providing the tools necessary to quickly access information and provide definitive well-scripted messages will drive employee satisfaction, which will translate into patient satisfaction.
None of the above observations or suggestions would be considered rocket-science, but should be front-and-center priorities from top to bottom of your organization. Because if they aren’t, your healthcare consumer will go somewhere else next year.
Jim Bohnsack is vice president of TransUnion Healthcare.
