NRC Health Trends Report Uncovers the Forces Shaping Healthcare Consumerism
December 21 2018 - 9:00AM
NRC Health, the leading provider of in-depth customer intelligence
in healthcare, today released its new 2019 Healthcare Consumer
Report. Based on insights from over a million healthcare consumers
nationwide, coupled with insights from respected healthcare leaders
across the country, NRC Health’s report reveals the forces that
shape healthcare consumer opinion and offers advice for how
hospitals and health systems can address their biggest challenges,
improve the patient experience, and drive consumer
loyalty.
For the last three years, hospital volumes have
been largely flat, with some large health systems reporting
significant declines, and many hospitals are struggling to attract
and retain patients. Healthcare consumers don’t just want excellent
care, they want care delivered with more ease, convenience, and
choice. And to thrive in the consumerist era of healthcare, health
systems must focus their institutional attention on finding new
ways to deliver care experiences that meet the modern consumer’s
expectations.
Consumer Sentiments Highlight Gap
Between Provider Relationships and the Care
ExperienceConsumer confidence in the healthcare industry
has been on the wane for some time. Yet, 87 percent of patient
comments praise clinicians’ courtesy and respect, according to NRC
Health. But where patients speak positively about their physicians
and nurses, they’re less likely to rave about their broader service
experiences. In fact, patients’ 67 percent of patients feel less
respected by non-clinical staff they encounter.
“Patients’ largely split verdict on health
systems highlights the need for hospitals to examine the
accompanying parts of the care experience that leave patients
feeling unsatisfied,” said NRC Health President Steve Jackson. “The
data reveals that hospitals have a problem if patients are walking
away feeling positive about their provider but negative about their
entire care experience. Hospitals have an opportunity to develop
inventive solutions that will help fill the gap and build loyalty
with patients and turn them into lifelong relationships.”
Do Healthcare Alternatives Pose A Threat
to Provider-Patient Relationships?More than half of
patients cite convenient, easily accessible care as the most
important factor in their healthcare decision-making. This desire
has manifested itself in the growth of non-traditional providers,
like retail clinics and telehealth, that simplify the healthcare
experience for consumers. 2004, the number of retail providers has
swelled by 500 percent, the number of primary care office visits
declined by 18 percent from 2012 to 2016, and nearly 60 percent of
employers now offer some form of digital healthcare appointments to
employees.
“We have to realize that our consumers have a
lot of choices. That means an episodic take on care experiences
doesn’t work anymore,” said Preston Gee, vice president of
strategic marketing at Texas-headquartered CHRISTUS Health. “We
have to adopt more continuous relationship-building. If we don’t,
patients will just go someplace else.”
“If hospitals want to improve patient
relationships and keep patients within their facilities, they will
need to build sustainable models to support frontline staff and
free up their time,” said Joe Ness, Chief Operating Officer at OHSU
Healthcare. “Because healthcare’s a people business. There’s no
substitute for that.”
Affordability Concerns Have Patients
Deferring CareNon-traditional alternatives undoubtedly
pose a threat to health system volumes, but another force is having
a depressive effect on patient visits: deferment of care.
In both 2017 and 2018, NRC Health’s Market
Insights data found that 23 percent of patients have put off
“necessary medical treatment” due to high service costs, the
highest percentage since 2010. Without the opportunity to
intervene, diagnose and treat potentially serious conditions, these
patients are likely to get worse over time, which ultimately
increases the costs of care and leads to worse outcomes. Perhaps
most concerning is that experts don’t see healthcare getting any
more affordable. Hospitals’ already thin margins leave little room
to discount service prices and as costs inevitably climb, the
prices presented to patients are likely to rise creating a vicious
cycle.
Facing Down Uncertainty“There’s
no doubt that consumerism poses considerable challenges for
healthcare leaders,” said Jackson. “Consumer ambiguity, shifting
sentiments, emergent competitive threats — these have all
fundamentally changed the landscape facing health systems
today.”
Compounding the challenge is how unprecedented
these trends are. New technologies, new service models, new
expectations from patients are pushing providers into unfamiliar
territory. One certainty, though, is that the strategies of
yesterday are no longer sustainable. If healthcare organizations
are to thrive in a consumerist future, they will need to hear what
consumers are telling them. They’ll need to face their patients’
demands without flinching. And they’ll need to pursue bold
experimentation, backed by robust data and true human
understanding, to uncover the solutions to serve tomorrow’s
patients.
“The era of provider-driven healthcare strategy
is over,” added Gee. “It takes a while to turn a super-tanker, but
we’ll need to do it to survive. We can’t just wait for people to
show up at our doorstep anymore.”
A copy of the report is available for
download.
About NRC
HealthFor 37 years, NRC Health (NASDAQ: NRC) has
been committed to achieving human understanding and bringing
healthcare organizations closer to their customers than ever before
by illuminating and improving the key moments that define an
experience and build trust. Guided by their uniquely empathic
heritage, proprietary methods, skilled associates, and holistic
approach, NRC Health helps its customers design experiences that
exceed expectations, inspire loyalty, and improve well-being among
patients, residents, physicians, nurses, and staff.
For more information, email info@nrchealth.com,
or visit www.nrchealth.com.
Press Contact
Jennifer Lyle Public Relations for NRC Health
nrchealth@barokas.com
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