How COVID Has Accelerated Healthcare Consumerism

Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist and author

Healthcare is undergoing dramatic change. Whether the change is in response to growing consumer pressures, technological advances, or the COVID-19 pandemic, it is bringing new challenges and opportunities for healthcare marketers.

The American Hospital Association’s Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) publication Futurescan looks at some of the most important and impactful trends that will be likely to influence healthcare over the next five years.

One of those key trends is the rise of consumerism in healthcare, which should not be news to anyone. But what has changed over the past year is the speed at which hospitals and health systems are responding to the trend. That’s because the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the consumerism trend in healthcare, just as it has done for online shopping, home delivery, and working from home.

“The need for testing and treatment of the coronavirus highlighted a stronger demand for healthcare access, patient safety, cost transparency, and new delivery models and sites,” says Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a health economist and author.

It is a trend that Sarasohn-Kahn says she believes is here to stay. Healthcare consumers will continue to look for safety, convenience, and value more than they did before the pandemic.

“Healthcare needs to become more frictionless, in terms of both shoppable experiences and care delivery,” she says. “As consumers, patients now routinely expect to find product reviews, quality reports, and pricing at their fingertips.”

Read the full article now for more key trends that are shaping our industry: Marketing Lessons from Futurescan

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Matt Humphrey
President