“Connected Healthcare Consumer” report, conducted by Salesforce, brings results on the relationship of consumers with companies in the health and life care sector
Salesforce, one of the leading global CRM companies, recently released the first edition of the Connected Healthcare Consumer report. The study surveyed nearly 6,000 consumers in nine countries, including 500 in Brazil, to learn about their experiences with suppliers, health insurers, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
The data reveals a gap between rising consumer expectations and the experience offered today by healthcare industries. In fact, 47% of Brazilian consumers say that healthcare and life sciences companies are more focused on their own needs than those of their patients. Furthermore, only 35% of Brazilians say that service providers take a proactive approach to patient health.
“Consumers are changing in all industries and areas. As technology advances, customer expectations, demands, and interests change. The study carried out by Salesforce shows that the health sector has not been meeting consumers' desires as they should”, comments Fabio Costa, Salesforce's general manager for Brazil. “Organizations need to put patients at the center of their business, change internal processes, invest in technologies for better knowledge and communication with this audience”.
The survey found that consumers are generally responsible for coordinating their own health care and sharing information between different health service providers. This fragmented scenario makes it difficult to obtain a holistic view of health information throughout the care chain, resulting in 64% of Brazilian consumers saying they are not sure how to access a complete health record. This reality is in direct conflict with modern consumer expectations for connected and seamless experiences.
The survey also found the following trends in Brazil
• Healthcare consumer engagement is going digital: Consumers — particularly younger generations — want personalized, on-demand experiences. They appreciate digital channels that make care more accessible, such as instant messaging, video chat, and patient communities. In fact, the report points out that 96% of Brazilians believe it is important to offer personalized portals on the internet (compared to 82% worldwide); 83% says it's important to offer live chat/instant messaging (55% worldwide); and 82% say it is important to offer online patient communities (52% worldwide).
• Trust becomes a priority as healthcare technology matures: In the healthcare and life sciences industries, where the most intimate personal data is involved in so many transactions, trust is critical to driving positive outcomes for patients and businesses. The study found that Brazilian consumers trust the following:
– 80% trust service providers (compared to 81% worldwide);
– 78% trust medical device companies (72% worldwide);
– 69% trust pharmaceutical companies (49% worldwide);
– 62% trust health insurers (59% worldwide).
As technology evolves, Brazilian consumers are also concerned about the future of privacy in healthcare. Assuming they were used securely and transparently, 73% of Brazilians would share their feedback for medical device companies to better develop or support new devices (compared to 50% worldwide). In addition, 71% would share their feedback for pharmaceutical companies to develop or support new drugs (47% worldwide).
A patient is more than just their symptoms
Many aspects of well-being that a patient seeks to address—such as accessibility, work schedules, family life, remote facilities, and personal mobility—extend beyond specific symptoms and present challenges for a substantial portion of the population. The more the healthcare industry understands about patients, the better equipped it will be to proactively treat the whole person to optimize outcomes, not just their symptoms.
In Brazil, 62% of consumers say that life circumstances have caused them to miss an appointment with a service provider (compared to 42% worldwide); 76% say finding healthcare nearby is a challenge (44% worldwide); 76% say taking time off work to receive care is a challenge (45% worldwide); and 86% say it is at least somewhat challenging to pay for treatment (64% globally).
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