Dive Brief:
- A new study from Catalyst Healthcare Research has concluded that 93% of adults would rather go to a doctor that offers e-mail communication.
- Of that 93%, 25% would still prefer a physician that uses email communication even if there were a $25 fee per episode.
- Consumers are also interested in doing other health transactions online. Researchers found that 44% of consumers want to pay bills online. Of Generation X consumers, 35% were interested in getting lab results online or via phone call. This group also had the highest percentage of consumers wanting to review test results online at 46%.
Dive Insight:
While consumers are increasingly interested in online access to doctors, they're still ambivalent about some functions. For example, 67% of respondents said they preferred making doctors' appointments via phone, vs. the 27% that prefer going online to make such an appointment. Also, telemedicine didn't seem that interesting to consumers surveyed. Only 14% of them were interested in doing a video chat, using tools such as Skype to talk to a physician after hours about a health need. But it's worth noting that the younger the generation, the more comfortable they seem communicating online with health professionals. As the young millennials — who check online accounts 26 times per day — become more prevalent in the patient base, it seems physicians will have to adapt once and for all.