Americans began using digital channels to connect with their healthcare experts during the early days of the pandemic, and they have done so ever since through patient portals, telemedicine technologies, and mobile applications. Currently, 46 percent of all U.S. consumers — a projected 119 million — get healthcare services through a combination of traditional in-person and digital options, and their numbers are growing.
“ConnectedEconomyTM: Omnichannel Healthcare Takes Center Stage,” a CareCredit collaboration, highlights how digital and omnichannel healthcare solutions have become important to healthcare access. In July, we polled a census-balanced panel of 2,735 U.S. consumers on their encounters with healthcare providers to learn more about how their healthcare behaviors have changed over the previous nine months and the implications for healthcare’s future.
The following significant findings emerged from our investigation:
• Healthcare, like shopping, is becoming an omnichannel experience in the United States. Customers connect with their healthcare providers in both physical and digital ways, according to 46%.
• Omnichannel healthcare is appealing to clients of all ages, but especially to Generation Z. In comparison, just 29% of baby boomers and elders use a combination of digital and in-person healthcare services.
• As inflation rises, low-income customers reduce their healthcare spending, but they continue to use digital healthcare technologies.
Customers earning less than $50,000 per year received 8% less healthcare services in July than in November, with only 40% of this group using any sort of healthcare service that month. Nonetheless, since November 2021, the number of low-income clients who engage with their healthcare professionals online rather than in person has increased by 6%. This implies that digital healthcare solutions are becoming increasingly crucial for low-income clients, and this trend does not appear to be slowing.
