Research Synopsis
Healthcare
November 22, 2005
In a continuing effort to better understand customer behavior, Ovation Marketing recently completed an online survey to assess how consumers choose healthcare providers. The survey addressed:
Clinic usage
- Reasons for choosing clinics/doctors
- Influence of the Internet
- Preferred sources of healthcare information
Overall Findings
The respondents were primarily female (70%) and represented a good cross section of age, closely following the U.S. Census Bureau data. These consumers are educated, with nearly 72% responding that they have attended or graduated college.
73% of the respondents report that they use a medical clinic that they consider their primary one. For those that said they didn’t have a primary clinic, 86% consider that they have a primary physician.
The survey results show that the participants have used their current clinic for an average of 6.6 years and averaged just over five visits in the last year. Only 11% indicated that they had changed their clinic in the recent past.
The clinic’s location was the number one reason for selecting a clinic, over such other reasons as “An insurance plan requirement,” “A recommendation of a friend, relative or co-worker,” and “Reputation.” Somewhat surprisingly, “Recommendation of a medical professional” ranked below all of those reasons.
Most people feel their primary clinic is “Highly qualified” (85%) or “Somewhat qualified” (15%) to provide routine healthcare. However, they feel their clinic is “Somewhat unqualified” (14%) or “Very unqualified” (5%) to provide necessary care in a life-threatening situation.
When asked if the Internet has affected the way they select a clinic, 90% said “No.” Similarly, 89% said the Internet has not affected the way they select a doctor. Those people who are using the Internet to select a clinic or doctor indicated that they used it primarily to research the “ratings” of clinics, look up doctor’s accomplishments, or check to see if services will be covered by their insurance.
So, on the surface, this would not appear to bode well for the Internet relative to healthcare. Later in the survey, we did find that it does indeed play a major role. We asked, “On an ongoing basis, which of the following resources do you feel you get most of your healthcare knowledge from?” The top two answers were “Your physician,” at 40% and “The Internet” at 29%. Then when asked, “When you want to actively seek out and learn more about a healthcare topic of interest to you, which is the one resource you would rely on most?” “The Internet” was the number one answer at 58% and ”Your Physician” was at 21%.
We see a clear opportunity here. Give the patients what they want. Imagine a clinic’s website that is content rich and information-packed, oozing with healthcare topics most in demand by patients. By providing such a site, patients will positively associate their physician and/or clinic with the vast value-added knowledge provided to them. This will reinforce a positive brand image in their minds, strengthening the ongoing relationship. Certainly, clinic sites can be linked to other healthcare sites to leverage content that already exists, but the goal should be to have them associate their Internet learning experience as a positive one, provided by their healthcare provider.
We also took the opportunity to ask how valuable it would be to receive an e-newsletter regarding healthcare from their clinic or doctor. 61% answered “Very valuable” or “Somewhat valuable.” This further supports that the Internet is an excellent opportunity for healthcare providers to improve their value to their patients.
