A New Report from Experian Health found that patients are increasingly frustrated with the lack of digital access to healthcare. The report found that only 17% of patients said the digital patient experience is continually improving. The most important digital service patients want from their providers is the ability to book appointments online or using a mobile device. Nearly three-quarters of patients also want an online payment option, and 56% want digital options for managing their care.
A New Report from Experian Health found that patients are increasingly frustrated with the lack of digital access to healthcare. The report, which surveyed both patients and providers, found that only 17% of patients said the digital patient experience is continually improving.
The most important digital service patients want from their providers is the ability to book appointments online or using a mobile device. Nearly three-quarters of patients also want an online payment option, and 56% want digital options for managing their care.
However, the report found that providers are struggling to keep up with patient demand for digital access. Nearly half of the providers said the digital transformation sparked in 2020 has slowed down.
Several challenges are preventing providers from improving the digital patient experience. These include staffing issues, patient confusion caused by the pandemic, and producing cost estimates. Providers also said that a lack of staff training and the implementation process for the technologies included in the digital front door are top challenges.
Despite these challenges, the report found that providers are optimistic about the future of the digital patient experience. Nearly half of providers said they think their organizations will invest more in patient engagement technologies in the next six months, and 45% said the digital patient experience will likely get better in the coming year.
The report suggested that providers should consider investments in technologies that build on the momentum built during the pandemic. After all, 57% of providers said the digital and mobile solutions they have recently launched improved the patient experience, and over a third agreed that automation has been beneficial.
The satisfaction with automation may be timely, as artificial intelligence (AI) matures enough to engage with healthcare consumers, themselves. Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT have proven effective for answering patient queries, often with the same accuracy and even better empathy than the providers themselves.
These technologies could automate secure direct messaging and remote patient engagement, as well as guide patient navigation in some cases.
Overall, the report found that patients are increasingly demanding digital access to healthcare. Providers are struggling to keep up with this demand, but they are optimistic about the future of the digital patient experience.
