As providers and insurers join together for populations, in a range of new delivery models, as a result of individuals spending more of their own money on health care and of the requirements of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, maintaining loyalty in the healthcare industry will require a more personalized approach, according to a new report from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute.
“In many respects consumer expectations in healthcare track closely with other industries,” the research says. “Convenience and speed are high on the list, whether purchasing clothing or choosing a doctor. Healthcare companies are recognizing that customer retention comes with repeatable, memorable experiences that meet individuals’ wants and needs.”
Consumers rely heavily on personal recommendations when making health care choices, the research points out. Additionally, patients are less forgiving than a disappointed retail customer. Therefore, the healthcare industry needs to push beyond basic customer-oriented improvements such as online appointment scheduling and payments to personalized service in actual care delivery – otherwise providers will lose business to the competition.
Advancements such as queue management in the airline industry, self-service and 24-hour availability in retail banking and the price and product transparency in the retail industry are still nascent concepts in healthcare, but offer clues to where the industry must go, according to the research.
When it comes to sharing good experiences, 70 percent of consumers share in retail, 54 percent in the healthcare providers industry and 44 percent in the healthcare insurance industry, the report says. “Willingness to share is important from a business perspective because it is related to the willingness to recommend. Often measured through a loyalty index called a net promoter score, this metric is a key indicator of spreading positive experience and generating brand loyalty in other industries.”
Seventy-two percent of consumers ranked provider reputation and personal experience as the top drivers of health care provider choice.
The report recommends that healthcare providers and insurers offer quick and easy feedback channels to capture positive and negative experiences, act on customer comments and monitor their online reputation. Personal experience is choosing a doctor is 2.6 times more important than other industries and peer recommendations are twice as important.
Seventy percent of survey respondents wanted multiple services in one location and nearly 65 percent said they valued online and mobile information exchange.
Staff attitude defines six out of 10 healthcare experiences, according to the research, making this attribute twice as important in healthcare as in the banking or hospitality industries.
“Healthcare can learn from the hospitality industry,” PwC recommends. “Hotel staff, for example, learn from the initial days of training that no better chance exists to create positive moments of truth than immediately following a mistake.”
The healthcare industry is starting to use customer experience metrics, according to the report. Starting in October, Medicare will reduce payments for each hospital discharge by about 1 percent as part of its Hospital Value-Based purchasing program, which uses consumer assessment scores as a key component to evaluate incentive payments. Patient satisfaction scores will determine 30 percent of the incentive payments.
“The ideal [healthcare] experience is increasingly being defined by non-clinical elements, such as convenience, amenities and customer service,” the research says.
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As a result of the report’s findings, PwC makes the following recommendations for healthcare industry and health insurance industry providers:
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Invest in understanding customers and their preferences
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Focus solutions on transparency, knowledge and convenience
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Take advantage of multiple access points to educate and engage consumers
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Open up forums for customer feedback
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Grant employees authority and skills to change the customer experience
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Be proactive and go beyond the transaction
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Dedicate leadership to enhance the customer experience