Boomers Want a Seamless and Integrated Healthcare Experience, Minus AI

Navigating a friction-filled healthcare system, not to mention the complexities of insurance coverage, can often be overwhelming, particularly for baby boomers and seniors who typically have greater and more frequent healthcare needs than their younger counterparts.

For these older consumers, seamless and integrated digital platforms that provide a centralized hub to access their insurance benefits and manage all their healthcare activities can make a significant difference, saving them from the inconvenience of having to deal with multiple separate tools and online portals.

As detailed in a PYMNTS Intelligence-Lynx report titled “The Digital Platform Promise: What Baby Boomers and Seniors Want From Digital Healthcare Platforms” report, baby boomers and seniors are highly interested in using unified digital healthcare platforms, with approximately 65% of this age group expressing some level of interest, equivalent to around 55 million consumers.

“Among respondents at least somewhat interested in unified digital platforms, 57% of baby boomers and seniors cited convenient access to all their healthcare information as a key reason — a much higher share than observed among younger age groups,” the study noted.

Additionally, these platforms streamline the complex and time-consuming healthcare experience by providing convenient access to various activities such as making payments, interacting with providers and insurers, managing prescriptions, and accessing detailed benefit information.

In addition to their interest in all-in-one digital platforms, nearly two-thirds of baby boomers and seniors have participated in a digital healthcare activity in the past year, the study noted, which further defies well-worn stereotypes about older people and their resistance to technology.

But when it comes to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the picture looks much different.

Recent PYMNTS Intelligence data reveals that “baby boomers and seniors are more hesitant about AI than other generations, whether due to a lack of familiarity or trust in the technology.” In fact, only 34% of older consumers are at least somewhat interested in AI involvement in their healthcare, much lower than the 42% average expressing interest in AI involvement in their healthcare.

Overall, contrary to stereotypes, baby boomers and seniors are embracing digital healthcare experiences and also showing a strong interest in using unified digital healthcare platforms to improve the management of healthcare activities.

However, businesses seeking to attract these older consumers must be mindful of the concerns they have around advanced technologies and must consider how and to what degree they incorporate AI into their messaging efforts.

As the study suggests, when deciding how best to convey AI’s positive impacts, businesses in highly regulated and sensitive industries such as healthcare could focus their messaging around data privacy and confidentiality to help boost acceptance of AI in that space.