Reimagining healthcare access: Four takeaways for providers

What’s trending: National survey reveals consumers’ diverse access preferences and how leaders can meet them   

Healthcare consumers are looking for options that align with their preferences for how they access and receive care. And they’re willing to switch providers to get the experience they’re looking for. 

A new survey of more than 1,000 consumers across the country explores why patients choose and stay with their providers. Naturally, that depends on the individual consumer, and demographic factors tend to influence preference. But the takeaways are clear for how healthcare organizations can rethink access to address consumer preferences. 

Why it matters 

The survey, conducted by Chartis and Jarrard, a Chartis Company, revealed that diverse consumer preferences fall into several key themes: 

1. Convenience comes second only to cost. When asked their top reasons for switching to a different provider, consumers predictably ranked not accepting their insurance and high costs as the top two reasons. But they’re also willing to switch specialty and primary care providers over convenience. These factors include:  

• Appointment timeliness (ranked reason No. 3 for specialty care and No. 5 for primary care) 
• Location (Nos. 4 and 3, respectively) 
• Ease of connecting to the practice via phone (Nos. 5 and 6, respectively)  
• Ease of accessing medical records (Nos. 6 and 7, respectively)  

2. Consumers want to schedule care via their preferred mode. Consumer preferences vary for scheduling appointments, with 4 in 10 consumers preferring an online option. Demographics, such as age, play a role. Two-thirds of consumers 65 and older prefer a phone call, versus one-third of those aged 18 to 34. 

3. Consumers are split on virtual appointments. Nearly the same percentage of consumers prefer a virtual option (e.g., video chat, phone call, text chat) as those who prefer an in-person doctor’s office visit for initial care for minor or routine needs. 

4. Care on demand leads consumers to urgent care providers. The top reasons consumers are attracted to urgent care are the ability to walk in for care when they want it (nearly 40%), timeliness (nearly 30%), and care after normal hours (more than 20%). Most primary care providers don’t offer the same level of convenience. 

What’s next 

Healthcare leaders can use these critical insights to build a stronger access function that generates demand, provides excellent service, and best deploys their care supply. Four takeaways should guide this work: 

1. Generate demand with convenient options.  Cost and convenience drive most patient decisions. When providers focus on seeing the patient at the right place and right time, they need to consider what “right” means from the consumer’s point of view as well. Clinically speaking, a patient may be able to wait 2 weeks for an appointment with a specialist. But that may be an additional 2 weeks of worry the patient seeks to avoid. Streamlining provider templates and utilizing advanced practice providers (APPs) in independent practice can unlock provider capacity.   

When it comes to offering convenient locations, having multiple satellite offices creates scheduling complexities. Providers should develop seamless, cross-location scheduling workflows to provide options for patients. Additionally, organizations can enable seamless service by investing in infrastructure that permits patients to easily contact their provider and instantly access their medical and payment information. This digital enablement keeps consumers connected to the organization between episodes of care.   

2. Excel at both digital and agent-mediated touchpoints.  Given the split consumer preference for phone and online connectivity, providers need to maintain or strengthen agent-mediated phone support. Simultaneously, they need to expand self-service tools.    

While they should encourage consumers to use online options, organizations should also consider the demographics of their patient population and recognize that the public isn’t ready for an online-only approach to scheduling and communications. While providers can expect a reduction in phone call volumes, agent efforts should focus on providing enhanced service for consumers who prefer a phone call.  

3. Provide a menu of options for in-person and virtual care.   In-person care isn’t going away, due to both clinical need and consumer preference. But providers must develop care models that support multiple care modalities and permit care team members to switch seamlessly between those modalities.    

Clear triage protocols during the scheduling process will help identify whether a virtual visit could meet the patient’s needs, should the patient prefer. Organizations should also focus on increasing physician and APP comfort with virtual tools to ensure virtual visit efficiency.   

4. Offer primary care consumers find convenient, or they will turn to urgent care.  Primary care providers need to remove barriers to seeing patients quickly and conveniently. This means providing same-day access to care, even if it’s with another provider in the clinic, and expanding hours and access points for their patients.    

Scheduling templates can reserve an appropriate amount of same-day access. Providers should also consider leveraging their APP workforce to meet the demand for more urgent needs. Scheduling protocols should factor not only the clinical necessity but also patients’ desire to receive care quickly. 

Remaining competitive in today’s market will require more options and a focus on convenience. Providers should expedite implementing digital solutions while still investing in traditional access points and the in-person clinic experience. Doing so will better fulfill patient preferences and deliver timely access that keeps patients healthy and engaged with their organization. 

ABOUT CHARTIS

The challenges facing US healthcare are longstanding and all too familiar. We are Chartis, and we believe in better. We work with more than 900 clients annually to develop and activate transformative strategies, operating models, and organizational enterprises that make US healthcare more affordable, accessible, safe, and human. With more than 1,000 professionals, we help providers, payers, technology innovators, retail companies, and investors create and embrace solutions that tangibly and materially reshape healthcare for the better. Our family of brands—Chartis, Jarrard, Greeley, and HealthScape Advisors—is 100% focused on healthcare and each has a longstanding commitment to helping transform healthcare in big and small ways. Learn more.

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