Healthcare Consumer and Top Pain Points

Patients are very unhappy with the current state of healthcare – 84% agree that the American healthcare system is broken and the majority believe it’s getting worse.

Patients blame the healthcare system for lack of access, convenience and personalization – Millennials stand out as the generation most frustrated by the lack of convenience. On average, it takes patients nine minutes to make an appointment — 6x longer than it takes them to make a restaurant reservation and 3.5x longer than it takes them to buy something online.

As a consequence, many delay or forgo care – One in three consumers said they have gone to the emergency department to avoid the inconvenience and delays of seeing their physician. Many have foregone care altogether because it was too inconvenient to get an appointment.

Providers could do more – While survey respondents agreed that breakdowns in the healthcare system are responsible for their frustrations, a vast majority also believe that physicians should make better use of available technology in order to improve system challenges. Here are some insights into payers and their challenges

• 82% agreed that, “It should be as easy to get healthcare on my mobile device as it is to order food or a car/rideshare.”
• 77% wish they could text message with their physician.
• 69% would like the ability to do virtual visits with their physician from their mobile device.

“This survey reveals widespread consumer frustration with the nation’s healthcare system, illustrating why we must reimagine the doctor-patient relationship,”

How Technology Impacts The Healthcare Industry

Technology has brought about a massive and welcome change to the healthcare industry. Patients now have access to some of the best diagnostic tools, new and cutting-edge treatments, and a myriad of minimally-invasive procedures resulting in less pain and quicker healing.

Digitization of Health Records Dusty and bulky paper files are slowly giving way to streamlined digital records that are securely uploaded to the cloud and made accessible remotely to patients and healthcare professionals. By this, storing, management, and transmission of data becomes easy and quick.

Mobile App Technology in the Medical Field Not only do patients have access to quick and accurate medical information using their handheld devices, but they can also use apps to keep track of doctor’s appointments, get reminders to take their medications. Doctors can communicate directly with their patients, record their vital signs accurately, maintain logs about visits and consultations, and achieve greater procedural efficiency.

Electronic Medical Records Electronic medical records or Electronic Health Records (EHRs) consist of digital summaries of a patient’s medical records. They could include diagnoses, lab reports, and details about hospital stays, surgical interventions, and prescriptions.

Big Data and the Cloud Big data is a buzzword in different industries, including healthcare. This is because the generation and collection of huge amounts of data from a number of different sources in the healthcare field are now possible. This data is then used for analytics, making predictions about possible epidemics and ultimately preventing deaths. Cloud storage of data helps improve efficiency and accessibility while reducing wastage.

Improved Patient Care Technology has placed at the disposal of the healthcare community various potent tools to improve patient care. Since EHRs are easily available to physicians, they can access complete medical histories of patients and make the most well-considered medical decisions.

Telemedicine/Telehealth and facilitate critical care in emergency situations; potentially saving lives. Telemedicine has made it possible for patients to use telemedical devices to receive home care and support using various applications and video telephony

Digital TaaS is committed to transforming Healthcare space

Please refer to our case study