What US Healthcare Consumers Really Want
Many of the posts on this blog have to do with designing better solutions for healthcare. After all, the delivery and consumption of healthcare is primarily a cognitive and behavior-change issue. I was very happy to see the latest study from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. It is a survey of the activities, beliefs and needs of healthcare consumers from around the world, including the US. Although many of the results are contextual from a design standpoint, some do get to specific functional needs. For example, the summary of the 2009 study found:
* 7 in 10 say they would participate in a wellness program if they were given financial incentives, such as a reduced insurance premium or monetary reward
* 13 percent of consumers have visited a retail clinic this year and 30 percent said they would do so if it cost 50 percent or less than seeing a doctor in a doctor’s office
* 42 percent want access to an online personal health record connected to their doctor’s office
* 65 percent of consumers are interested in home monitoring devices that enable them to check their condition and send the results to their doctor
The study supports the conclusion that healthcare costs do change behaviors and consumers are willing to embrace innovations in self-care that meet their cognitive needs – personalization, control and convenience.
