2021 Patient Experience Trends Fueling Profitable Medical Practices

Superb patient experience was not a top priority in the medical industry thirty years ago. If you wanted to see a doctor, you would have to physically appear in the clinic, wait out a long line just to sign up for the doctors’ appointment, and maybe if you are lucky – actually visit the doctor within the next few weeks. Worst of all – you would always shoot in the dark when trying to pick the right specialist.

Nowadays, you can sign up for any kind of specialist online, see their reviews and specialization, as well as employment and education history. Best of all – you can get same-day appointments in a matter of minutes all from the comfort of your home and even receive the treatment online using telehealth software services.

So, why did patient experience become so important in the last few decades? The answer is pretty obvious – if you don’t provide the highest level of service to your patients, someone else will. This is why it is important to stay up to date with the latest patient experience trends and statistics that are

9+ Eye-Opening Patient Experience Trends & Statistics

If you are living in a developed country, the healthcare industry will likely take up more than 10% of your country’s annual GDP. Despite being one of the oldest industries in the world, the healthcare industry managed to remain one of the most innovative sectors historically.

Heralded by the advent of telehealth technology, remote patient monitoring, and advances in treatment, the industry is bound to deliver impressive numbers over the next few years. Curious to get a glimpse into the future of healthcare? Check out these nine prominent patient experience trends.

1: Need for Easier Access to Medical Records

Gone are the days when patients had to carry huge medical folders with tens of scans, hundreds of prescriptions, and thousands of small notes about their health status that they’ve gathered through the years.

Nowadays, patients prefer to have all of their medical records stored online. 78.8% of USA patients have used an online medical record portal in the past year. Better access to medical records removes the headache of managing hundreds of papers for patients and makes it easier for healthcare professionals to review patients’ files.

2: Easy Online Accessibility Gives Doctors an Edge

Having a dedicated online patient portal is not only about providing more convenience. If your medical practice does not provide good online access, you are going to lose 59% of Gen Y patients. Therefore, having online patient management services is a necessity for every medical practice in the world.

3: Cut the Wait Times and See More Patients

No one likes to wait in line for hours. 84% of clients say that wait time in a clinic is “somewhat important” or “very important” to the overall patient experience. Moreover, over 43% of patients find long waiting times frustrating, saying that they will switch medical practices if this problem is persistent.

The key to success with patient time management is to implement patient management software into your practice. This will allow you to manage patients’ sign-up sheets more effectively, approximate their appointment length and minimize the possible wait time.

4: Transparency About Cost of Healthcare is Essential

While 77% of patients state that healthcare costs are unpredictable, 65% of clients also state that transparency about the cost of healthcare is integral to the overall patient experience in the clinic. Therefore, creating detailed estimates for your services, and avoiding any extra fees is a sure way to keep the customer retention levels high.

5: Millennials Crave Efficiency and Digitization of Care

As you might have guessed from the above, the younger your patients are – the higher are the requirements for digitization, transparency, and efficiency that they demand. Therefore, your medical practice needs to implement digitized workflows if you want to become successful with younger clients.

6: Telehealth Transformation

Once COVID-19 hit the world, it became clear to everyone – offering remote patient monitoring and general medical services is not just about providing more convenience, it is a necessity. Some people might think that offering online patient services is inferior to in-person medical services. This cannot be further away from the truth and as most medical experts predict - telehealth technologies are here to stay. So, if your medical practice is currently not offering any remote services – you are likely missing out.

7: Inclusive Cross-Specialist Diagnoses

The traditional treatment process would usually involve going to a few doctors in succession, which means that you have to schedule multiple appointments, pay several bills, and sometimes – end up not getting a clear answer about your medical condition. This is a very frustrating situation, but the good news is – inclusive cross-specialist simultaneous diagnosis definition is no longer a thing of the future. Nowadays, doctors can manage patient files simultaneously and work on one file at the same time, providing a collaborative diagnosis that is more precise and efficient.

8: Transferring Patient Data on Blockchain

Blockchain technology allows for secure and efficient storage of data and instantaneous exchange of information. What does that mean for the medical industry? By putting all of the patients’ data on Blockchain and forming medical contracts using smart contract technology, medical professionals will pave the way for faster and cheaper transaction processing, less paperwork, and easier and secure access to patient data.

9: Internet of (Healthy) Things and Digital Revolution

There are hundreds of different wearable devices, that provide you with an insight into your health state. Starting from smartwatches and fitness bands going to heart rate and sleep monitors, the healthy wearables industry is expected to reach USD 46.6 billion by 2025 from USD 18.4 billion in 2020. Such technologies will enable doctors to provide patients with feedback on their conditions remotely and empower patients to get a better hang of their health all from their wrists.

2021 Patient Experience Trends: Does the Future of Medical Industry Look Bright?

To sum it all up, we can identify the following trends in patient experience:

• Higher need for medical workflow digitization

• Increased efficiency requirements and reduced waiting times

• Cross-doctor diagnosis definition is a must

• The advent of telehealth and smart wearables fueling advanced remote services

• Transparency is the key to success

While these trends might mean that you will need to invest more resources to keep your medical practice up to date, they also empower healthcare businesses to become more efficient and provide patients with the better healthcare. How does your medical practice match against these trends? If you feel like you are trailing behind, we would recommend you invest into medical software development services to get the most out of your workflows.