The American healthcare market – all $3 trillion of it – has undergone a period of rapid change in recent years. Chief among these changes has been a general shift towards consumer choice, prompting the rollout of all sorts of new tech products in a bid to entice customers.
Many of these new products – from startups and incumbents alike – carry with them claims of disruptive, revolutionary potential. Digestive sensors, wearable tech, and other innovations are the future of the consumer experience in healthcare, their advocates claim.
But a new study conducted by Strategy&, a PWC company, suggests that consumers are looking for the simple, not the spectacular. The study asked 500 consumers to rank 15 different technology-enabled services in the health insurance in order of what they’d most like to see from their own insurer. The two most favored innovations were an online out-of-pocket cost estimator and online access to medical records. Wearables took 13th, online wellness programs 15th.
What the study shows most of all, according to Strategy&, is that healthcare consumers prioritize streamlined service and convenience over anything else – no matter how technologically advanced. Health insurers will need to adapt their products and services to ensure that regular consumers are not lost in the rush to innovate.
Read more at Strategy+Business
We spoke with Aetna’s Mark Bertolini about the changes in the healthcare industry at TE Detroit in 2015.
Plus, at Techonomy 2015 last November, Bernard Tyson of Kaiser Permanente talked about his company’s role as both a healthcare insurer and provider.
Business + Innovation
Consumers to Health Insurers: Keep it Simple
The American healthcare markethas undergone a period of rapid change in recent years. Chief among these changes has been a general shift towards consumer choice, prompting the rollout of new tech products in a bid to entice customers. But a new study suggests the best way to win over consumers is to bring things back down to earth.
