NEW DATA: One-Third of Patients Would Use Healthcare Portals If They Had Access

Consumers are increasingly turning to digital channels such as online patient portals to streamline communication with healthcare providers and the management of their care. Digital tools used for activities such as booking appointments, obtaining test results and making payments are becoming preferred — if not expected — especially among digital-first consumers.

Traditional methods of providing care and interacting with patients are still common, yet healthcare providers are pressed to address patients’ needs for transparent and easy access to critical health-related information and be able to perform patient care-related tasks via digital channels.

Recent PYMNTS research finds that patients report several key pain points related to finding healthcare providers and getting cost estimates in advance of care, however. Eighteen percent of consumers said selecting healthcare professionals and asking questions was problematic, and 15% reported difficulties obtaining accurate cost estimates for appointments.

These are just some of the findings uncovered in The Digital Healthcare Gap: Streamlining The Patient Journey, a PYMNTS and Experian Health collaboration. This report examines how healthcare providers currently interact with patients via digital channels such as patient portals. It also offers actionable insights into the gaps in healthcare providers’ digital practices and how meeting patients’ expectations for a seamless digital experience throughout the patient journey can increase engagement and improve care.

More key findings from the report include:

• One out of five patients has scheduled an appointment via digital channels in the last 12 months, with urgent care patients the most likely to do so. Our data finds that 17% of urgent care patients scheduled appointments via patient portals, while 16% did so via practices’ websites and 5% via text message. Family practice patients schedule appointments via patient portals more than other digital channels, with 15% doing so. Meanwhile, 5% use the practices’ websites and 2% schedule via text message. At 7%, dental practice patients are the least likely to use patient portals to schedule appointments.

• On average, 31% of patients say they use digital methods to find and select providers, with one out of 10 patients finding providers through online reviews or searches. Patients of urgent care physicians look for these providers via digital methods more than the rest, with 18% using online reviews and 20% using online searches. Still, 18% of respondents mention difficulties finding and selecting the specific professionals they need.

• Two-thirds of consumers currently use patient portals, with millennials and higher-income consumers the most likely to do so. Our research also finds that 32% of those not using portals would be “very” or “extremely” interested in using one if their usual providers offered them. Thirty-eight percent of specialist and radiologist patients who are not provided portals are most interested in using them. At 29%, patients of family practice doctors who do not use patient portals are the least interested.

To learn more about how healthcare providers use digital channels to improve patient care and satisfaction, download the report.