Remember when patients were sitting in rows, even with an appointment to be the one called in next. It was quite tiring, though it was tiring for a doctor, and it was even more for a patient. Especially when coming down to the USA, we will see a shortage of doctors by 122,000. It is an enormous number.
For every doctor’s consultation, the process was to pick a date, call for an appointment, find out if the doctor is available, fix to his availability timeline, be there on time and not enough, and wait for hours. Every time there was an emergency or need to meet a doctor. There will always be rushing to the hospital or clinic, irrespective of time and distance.
Times have changed and now with the millennials around, everything are different. Change is inevitable in every aspect of life. Do you know what else is inevitable in the healthcare industry? Consumerization.
Now first, let us understand what consumerism and consumerization are. These two are often mistaken for the other. Consumerism is when the business is producing or promoting the interest of the consumers. Consumerization is how consumer originated technology or behaviors development happens. This development or change does not take place in the business or anywhere that the business can control. This change can affect a business and its performance in various ways.
Consumerization is what is happening in the healthcare industry right now. When looking up changes in the healthcare industry or shifts in the healthcare industry, consumerization is a prominent word everywhere. Anything about healthcare and consumerization is the first word that pops up.
It is an undeniable fact that the healthcare industry is making all the changes possible to keep pace with its consumers. Hospitals do stand out in this aspect. Hospitals are not like clinics or research centers that house one problem. Hospitals are a powerhouse for every patient’s issue. They house scans, surgeries, therapy, and everything in between.
When hospitals change their way of performance to match with their consumers, every other healthcare setting follows. And this is a big reason why businesses seek to market to hospitals first and buy the Hospital Email Address List, to make their marketing more speedy and efficient.
What are creating these changes in the healthcare industry? What is the main factor that throws consumerization in the air for the healthcare industry more than any other? Here are a few factors that can be the core answer to these questions and why consumerization is about to touch its peak in the healthcare industry.
Wearable Technology makes its home with a multitude of people:
Only when people do not have access to what they need to know they get desperate for immediate professional help. With wearable technology in the picture, every person has access to know how their health is doing.
Which Kind of wearable technology helps patients?
Wearable Fitness Trackers
Smart Health Watches
Wearable ECG monitors
Wearable’s Blood Pressure Monitors
Biosensors
Smart Socks
Smart Masks
Smart Helmets
Big Data is a Source they want to be involved:
Everyone knows this! It is the Big data era. Big Data and the internet of things have gotten everyone on their toes. Big Data that connects to the internet of things is 79.4 zettabytes big. This volume is so huge, making it a dominant feature in our day-to-day lives. Just accessing previous records of a patient and giving out treatments does not work in the healthcare industry anymore.
Patients now expect from healthcare providers, personalized treatments, and not generalized ones. Big Data and IoT come in to assist the healthcare industry in this aspect.
Cost Transparency is demanded all over the Sector:
Patients want access to real-time cost information. 89% of patients want to know their payment responsibility upfront, and 85% want an online estimation tool to consider costs before a medical visit. It does not just stop at pre-consultation and treatments. The consumer wants more swift cost estimations before emergencies and varied payment options.
Telemedicine Plays a Role:
There was a time when healthcare providers wanted to introduce telemedicine in the industry with so much enthusiasm. But with it in the industry now, consumers are used to receiving every healthcare need at their own pace. This has, in turn, led to times where consumers leverage everything at their pace and expect it to be so.
How is the healthcare sector going to cope with these expectations?
Meeting a consumer’s expectation is every provider’s central objective. In the healthcare sector, attainment of that can be through a few strategic ways. Here are a few that may work:
Provide cost transparency and numerous payment options
Invest in Technology
Use Data to Engage Patients
Wrapping it up:
The future of healthcare providers revolves around giving their consumers access to what they need. In simpler words, the healthcare provider who invests in the comfort zone of a consumer can make it to the top of the list.
With the rising number of hospitals and healthcare settings, the competition to be the best of the service provider has become intense. To fill the gaps and grow, healthcare settings must be a step ahead of their consumers’ pace.