By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    stress management for healthcare workers
    3 Tips For Healthcare Professionals: How To Stay Beautiful, Healthy, and Happy
    November 2, 2021
    importance of relaxing on the weekend for your health
    Importance of Relaxing During the Weekend for Optimal Health
    March 25, 2022
    LASIK Eye Surgery
    What Is LASIK Eye Surgery?
    May 16, 2022
    Latest News
    Health Benefits of Taking a Vacation to Reduce Your Stress
    September 27, 2023
    First Aid Training Enhancing Workplace Health and Safety
    September 25, 2023
    Beyond the Clinic: Medical Surveys Are a Roadmap to Passive Income for Doctors
    September 23, 2023
    5 Self-Care Habits to Help You Live an A+ Life
    September 21, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare IT
    Telemedicine’s Achilles’ Heel: The Telephone
    May 16, 2013
    Vaccines – The Most Cost Effective Way to Prevent Infections
    October 27, 2011
    health IT
    ikaSystems CEO Joe Marabito on Transforming Health Plan IT Systems [TRANSCRIPT]
    June 7, 2013
    Latest News
    Job Seekers with Disabilities Should at Health Insurance Benefits
    September 12, 2023
    Reasons That Drug Prices Are Rising to Unsustainable Levels
    September 12, 2023
    How Revenue Lifecycle Management Helps Healthcare Providers to Optimize Business Operations
    September 6, 2023
    The Hidden Benefits of Practice Exams for Medical Professionals
    September 6, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Consumer-Driven, Digital Disruption in Healthcare
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Innovations > The Consumer-Driven, Digital Disruption in Healthcare
BusinesseHealthMedical InnovationsMobile HealthTechnology

The Consumer-Driven, Digital Disruption in Healthcare

Jonathan Catley
Last updated: 2016/04/04 at 1:55 PM
Jonathan Catley
Share
8 Min Read
consumer-driven-digital-disruption.png
SHARE

consumer-driven-digital-disruption.png

Contents
The Populist Power GrabHealthcare is Getting a Digital FaceliftConsumer Data and Online Engagement Have Set the Bar

Many believe that medical companies, technological innovations, and government regulations are driving the digital disruption in healthcare — in reality, the industry is simply scrambling to keep up with consumer demand.

consumer-driven-digital-disruption.png

Many believe that medical companies, technological innovations, and government regulations are driving the digital disruption in healthcare — in reality, the industry is simply scrambling to keep up with consumer demand.

More Read

health software development outsourcing

Benefits of Outsourcing Healthcare Software Development Services

5 Tech Apps and Gadgets to Maintain Your Health Connectivity
Step-by-Step Guide to EHR Implementation
Developing Meditations Apps to Fight the Mental Health Crisis
Harnessing the Power of Technology to Shape the Future of Proactive Health and Disease Diagnostics

Historically speaking, the consumer/brand relationship has been pretty one-sided — companies have essentially held all of the cards, defining the evolution of the customer experience, product innovation, and consumption trends in general.

For example, every year the fashion industry dictates the hottest new styles and brands, TV networks and movie studios decide what we want to watch, tech companies set the bar for digital innovation, and we, the consumers, line up to buy whatever it is they’re selling. But the winds of change may be upon us — and they’ve started blowing in a somewhat surprising direction.

The Populist Power Grab

fist.jpg

The healthcare industry is currently being rocked by digital disruption, but it’s not being led by industry giants, by technological innovation, or by government regulations and initiatives — rather, the change is being driven by the consumers themselves.

We’ve certainly seen these types of digital transformations before: Uber swooped in and turned the transportation industry completely on its head; AirBnB did the same thing to the vacation rental and hospitality space. But there’s an important distinction here: both of these examples involve companies inventing a new product or service model, which in turn invented the demand. It’s actually just the fashion and entertainment industry examples all over again. The change comes from what happens next.

If the success of these platforms demonstrates anything at all, it’s the fact that consumers value intuitive technologies and the convenience of on-demand services — just look at Uber, which is well on its way to a $62.5 billion valuation. And as the general population has grown increasingly accustomed to these new platforms and purchasing experiences, these expectations have proliferated across industry lines.

This is where the “consumer-driven” part of the conversation comes into the mix: the overwhelming success of companies in completely unrelated markets has caused a fundamental shift in the consumer/brand power dynamic — a shift that is transforming healthcare as we’ve come to know it. Consumers are now calling the shots, and the industry is scrambling to keep up.

Healthcare is Getting a Digital Facelift

smartwatch_square.jpg

Now that digital optimization and on-demand experiences have become a baseline expectation for consumers across the board, the healthcare industry has been forced to cede some of its power and adapt its approach to the patient experience.

We’ve already seen this happening with the “Uber-ization” of medical appointments. As the Wall Street Jounal reports, a host of companies like Heal, Dispatch, Pager, and MedZed have made waves with app-enabled house calls (or office calls, as the case may be). Back in 1930, nearly 40% of doctor visits were at-home, but by the early 1980s, the trend had all but vanished. Today, the massive proliferation of one-touch, on-demand smartphone services are forcing doctors to bring back the personalized approach — or risk losing patients to others who are more flexible and willing to embrace this trend.

Of course, the trend is much, much larger than home visits. As Forbes notes, there’s been a paradigm shift in the public conception of how healthcare works: instead of reactively treating sickness, consumers are proactively seeking health. Here’s a quick overview of just a few corners of the health market in which consumer-driven demand has already made an impact:

  • Forms of remote care, such as telemedicine, are booming. Today, 84% of those 18-34 would prefer a mobile-mediated consultation to an office visit, and there will be three million remotely-monitored patients by 2019.
  • Consumers are purchasing high-tech wearables and connected devices by the millions to improve their overall health and well-being. Wearable market revenues reached $12.6 billion last year, and will hit $95.3 billion by 2021.
  • Demand for increased efficiency and price transparency has prompted a surge of venture capital investment into disruptive digital health and biotech startups. Funding topped $16 billion last year, up 34% from 2014.
  • 95% of consumers demand online access to health records, says Accenture, driving cloud adoption and making software a “core competency” for medical companies. Widespread interconnection of medical devices could save healthcare $30 billion annually.

And no matter your opinion of policy, recent legislation also indicates a trend towards market reactionism. For example, portions of the Affordable Care Act, such as price transparency requirements and the institution of an online, open-access marketplace, are responses to consumer demand for personal control. See also the federal government’s $30 billion dollar push for electronic health records in 2009.

Consumer Data and Online Engagement Have Set the Bar

data.jpg

Early-adopters have already experienced a huge return on their willingness to play ball. For example, Google’s opportunistic approach to healthcare has turned into a mutli-billion dollar venture — the company has utilized powerful data analytics, machine learning, and pattern recognition technologies to transform diagnostic and treatment techniques. 

Many medical marketers are using some of these same technologies to identify and engage with prospective patients. Traditional mass-participation surveys like the NHIS are becoming more difficult to conduct, which means that online behavioral analysis and demographic targeting have become gold standards for discovering what it is that patients want and how to connect with them more effectively.

Despite their longtime reliance on traditional media channels such as radio, print, and television, it’s become clear that medical marketers must recognize the latest trends and consumer expectations and react accordingly, or risk alienating their target audiences and losing out to their more forward-thinking competitors. At the end of the day, healthcare is all about helping people — whether it’s a patient describing their symptoms, or their struggle to book an appointment online, it’s the job of medical professionals to do everything within their power to serve the patient’s needs.

Healthcare has been in need of a major disruption for some time and it now has the technological and digital means necessary to facilitate one. And at long last, we, the consumers, are the ones in the driver’s seat, controlling the narrative and forcing the industry to meet our evolving demands.

Targeted Medical Marketing, Digital Marketing

(Image credits: WenPhotos/Pixabay, fancycrave1/Pixabay, geralt/Pixabay)

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Jonathan Catley April 4, 2016
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Mistakes Practices Make On Their Website and Social Media
Next Article How do we get past “notification overload” in healthcare?

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

Andropause hormonal decline
The Benefits of TRT for Andropause and Hormonal Decline
Wellness September 28, 2023
Cancer Prevention
The Importance of Lipoma Examination in Cancer Prevention
Cancer September 28, 2023
dental implant
Cost Analysis of Dental Implants in Australia
Dental health September 28, 2023
View,Of,Niagara,Falls,In,Autumn
Health Benefits of Taking a Vacation to Reduce Your Stress
Health September 27, 2023

You Might also Like

quality of life
Technology

Elevating Quality of Life: An In-depth Examination of Stairlift Technological Advancements

September 17, 2023
menopause and depression
Mental Health

How Menopause and Depression are Connected

September 13, 2023
medical billing training
Medicare

Navigating Through the Essentials: Medical Billing Training for Beginners

September 12, 2023
healthcare providers
Hospital Administration

How Revenue Lifecycle Management Helps Healthcare Providers to Optimize Business Operations

September 6, 2023
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US
© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?