Who Is the Empowered Health Consumer?

The healthcare industry is poised to change, whether health and wellness providers are ready or not. With the rise in healthcare consumerism, the traditional patient has now become an empowered consumer that has information and a host of healthcare alternatives at their fingertips. Dating back to 2010, according to some healthcare experts, the rise of healthcare consumerism began with the Congress-approved Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), commissioned to find ways to provide greater transparency and resources for patients to make more informed decisions. As the trend of healthcare consumerism continues to rise, savvy healthcare marketers will need to create unique marketing campaigns to attract their target audiences.

Fast forward nearly a decade later, patients now have greater access to see medical service prices, manage their care from their smartphone, even get a medical diagnosis from a licensed physician over video chat. With the use of mobile healthcare apps and wearable medical devices expected to skyrocket by 35% by 2020, it is clear that more and more patients are looking for alternatives to traditional medical care.

In fact, in a recent Pricewaterhouse Cooper survey, researchers found that patients are turning to retail pharmacies and urgent care centers to meet their medical needs. This is likely due to both the convenience (hours and location) as well as the reduced cost compared to seeing a doctor or going to the hospital. And, when you examine the rate at which the use of alternative medical care is occurring, health and wellness providers should especially take note:

• 1% of people have had a sore or wound treated at a clinic in a retail store or pharmacy.
• 6% of patients use an electrocardiogram attached to a mobile device at home.
• 44% of people say they skipped a much-needed doctor’s appointment during an illness or injury to avoid the cost.

In addition, the demographics of who the empowered health consumer is varied along age and socioeconomic lines. Touted as the “Most Data-Driven” generation, Millennials are a consumer force to be reckoned with. With 57% of Millennials comparison shopping before making any purchase decision, attracting these patient demographics can serve to be challenging, especially when cheaper and more readily available medical alternatives are within reach. Millennials are more likely than any other segment to trust online guidance, share their health regimes with others on social media, and actively invest in healthy living practices to avoid chronic diseases later in life.

According to a consumer study, older and often less educated consumers are more likely to continue using traditional medical services and are less likely to trust health-related mobile apps or alternative options. As such the profile of an empowered health consumer is someone between the ages of 25-44, well-educated, and technologically savvy. As this group is also likely to have significant student loan debt, finding ways to eliminate or reduce the cost of managing their health is one of their top priorities.

Therefore, to appeal to this growing demographic, healthcare marketers will want to position their services or products as an affordable, convenient, and reliable way to improve a consumers health outcome.

How Are You Handling the Empowered Health Consumer?

Creating winning and targeted marketing campaigns to appeal to consumer needs will be critical in attracting and engaging them in the future. To gain further insight into how best to tap into this growing trend, click here. If you would benefit from a detailed empowered health consumer consultation, feel free to contact the award-winning digital marketing team at Response Mine Health at 404-233-0370.