Is digital communication the future of healthcare?
Redpoint Global recently announced the results of a survey conducted by Dynata into digital communication and healthcare. The survey, which focussed on more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, found that over 80% preferred to use digital communication channels to interact with their healthcare providers some of the time. In contrast, 44% preferred to communicate digitally 100% of the time.
Some of the preferred digital communication include virtual appointments, video chats, texts, and online messaging. Most of these methods of digital communication began as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many healthcare providers trying to eliminate unnecessary contact and limit the spread of the virus. However, now digital communication introduced during COVID-19 is an expectation for many consumers, not an exception.
Over the last eighteen months, 65% of people surveyed reported utilizing digital telehealth services, with 34% preferring to continue using these methods and not reverting back to face-to-face communication for all of their healthcare needs.
“We’ve seen a huge acceleration of consumer-driven healthcare services over the past 18 months. Catalyzed by the pandemic, the digital transformation that was nascent at forward-thinking, patient-centric healthcare services has become a tsunami of change,” said John Nash, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Redpoint Global.
Another interesting aspect of this switch or shift to digital communication is how it impacts patient expectations. We recently looked at how 70% of patients believe their healthcare providers lack empathy, and communication was a key issue for many patients. Digital communication could be one way that healthcare providers could increase patient-doctor communication and also build better relationships with patients, in turn increasing patient satisfaction and patient outcomes and ultimately increasing their revenue.
However, switching to 100% digital communication isn’t the answer either. Almost 24% of people surveyed said that they didn’t utilize any digital communication with health care providers. Switching to 100% digital communication channels leaves organizations open to potentially underserving a large percentage of their customer base.
“The industry realizes the need to think strategically about patient data, omnichannel communication, and holistic, personalized patient engagement. As a result, leading healthcare providers and brands are selecting organizations to help deliver a [personalized] customer view of each patient to deliver services and communication in the relevant channel at the cadence each patient requires.”
While digital communication is now an integral part of modern healthcare, it’s not the only solution to serving clients. Additionally, the survey found:
60% of people surveyed believe that it’s critical that healthcare providers show their understanding of patients’ needs beyond the basic patient data,
34% of people surveyed were disappointed by doctor availability and response times. Part of their frustration arose from a lack of digital communication for appointments and inconsistent communication,
57% of people surveyed believe that retailers and financial institutions do a better job of providing personalized communication experiences than healthcare providers.
The topics of communication and personalized patient experiences continue to come up in the healthcare industry. Proactive companies such as Laxxon Medical are continually striving to find new ways to revolutionize how we look at drug delivery systems that result in better patient experiences.
At Laxxon Medical, we believe the application of customizable medication, personalized to suit the patient, utilizing advanced 3D printing technology, will be able to deliver a more personalized approach to patient healthcare. This will allow doctors to prescribe customized medication to suit patients’ needs and improve the overall patient experience.
Laxxon Medical is dedicated to engineering patented 3D pharmaceutical solutions which optimize products and benefit patients. Our goal is to establish SPID®-Technology as a manufacturing process that has the individual and the pharmaceutical partner in mind.