As patients assume more financial skin in their personal healthcare, they take on the role of demanding consumer, or “impatient patients.” HealthEdge’s latest research into health consumers’ perspectives finds peoples’ satisfaction with their health insurance plans lacking, with members seeking easier access their personal health information, high levels of service, and rewards for healthy behaviors.

 

 

 

 

 

Health plans would also boost consumers’ satisfaction by channeling patients’ access to the kinds of medical providers that align with consumers’ preferences and personal values, and by personalizing information to steer people toward lower-cost care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can see health consumers’ shifting priorities for satisfaction-boosting changing from 2019 to 2023 based on HealthEdge’s previous research.

Today, health plan members ranked receiving incentives and rewards for healthy behaviors ahead of other actions a health plan might take to more delightfully engage members.

That’s followed by making access to “my” health records easier, and granting access to me to providers who align well with my preferences and personal values.

That latter health consumer demand wasn’t even on the top-5 radar among consumers in the 2019 study (and more on the importance of that in the Hot Points, below).

 

 

 

 

 

To sum up health consumers’ satisfaction proof points, HealthEdge recommends that care managers:

  • Communicate with a person based on their preferences for media and messaging (that is, omni-channel with the patient at the center)
  • Help the patient obtain and manage their prescription drugs
  • Have their health information at the ready when communicating with them (say, via the call center)
  • Enable the consumer to participate in and help build their care plan, and
  • Refer folks to social services and resources in their community — attending to each person’s unique risk for determinants of health (SDoH).

HealthEdge polled over 2,800 health-insured consumers online for this study

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  When we hear about “personalized medicine” in 2023, the phrase is generally underpinned by discussions of genomics and lab tests that aim to pinpoint clinical markers that can bolster the success of treatment and maximize patients’ outcomes for full and long (or longer) lives.

But personalized health care is what we’re talking about here, built on peoples’ preferences and sense of value and values….designing care around peoples’ lives and not just strictly their care plan or clinical protocol. 

 

 

This insight takes me back to an Accenture report I learned a lot from about one year ago titled The Human Paradox. The paper was subtitled, “from customer centricity to life centricity.”

This quote from the paper perfectly extends the HealthEdge research into a post-pandemic macro consumer reality: that people are prioritizing themselves and want to follow their values….but not at the expense of value….taking matters into their own hands and at the same time, want companies to “hold their hand.”

For health care industry stakeholder organizations, this is now Job 1: attend to the patient-consumer-citizen’s sense of values as well as their sense of value as the medical bill payor….and support the patient-member-citizen through their health and well-being journey on their terms.