When it comes to patient engagement half the battle is understanding what the patient expects and the other half is meeting (or exceeding) those expectations. Patients, as consumers in other industries have rising expectations. And with technology rapidly changing the consumer landscape the demands of patients will continue to evolve. The healthcare consumerism movement has helped to bring patient expectations front and center.
Healthcare Consumerism
Healthcare consumerism is a movement in healthcare with the goal to have everyone more involved in their own care. Patients increasingly taking an active role in their care experience and evermore empowered to choose their own care alternatives; includes knowing the real costs of healthcare and taking an active role in managing those costs.
Adapting healthcare from what has been convenient to the provider, to what is instead convenient for the consumer; offering patients fast, convenient service in the form of online payments, retail clinics, telemedicine, access to their data and an overall improved patient experience.
Healthcare consumerism enables the ‘Empowered Patient’ as opposed to ‘Consumer’ because after all, relatively healthy patients may shop for their healthcare, while those that are very sick will not.
So What are the Expectations of Patients?
While no two patient populations are the same there are 8 patient expectations that healthcare organizations can’t ignore. Each of these expectations revolve around engaging and empowering patients to take control of their care:
- Access
- Healthcare Navigation
- Personalization
- Price & Cost Transparency
- Virtual Primary & Specialty Consults
- The Internet of Things (IoT)
- Advanced Analytics & AI
- Precision & Genomics Medicine
Each of the expectations listed above should be ingrained across the continuum of care – to ensure engagement throughout the patient’s journey.
