Consumers have become accustomed to companies using incredibly sophisticated engagement methods to earn their loyalty and business. From online retailers to airlines, companies have made it their mission to find out what makes their customers tick and how to engage them with targeted strategies that inspire action – whether that’s purchasing a pair of shoes or booking a flight.
Consumerism in healthcare is a fairly new development, sparked by the market’s shift toward value-based care, and providers and payers are now striving to improve the patient/member experience. A recent survey by Change Healthcare titled “The Engagement Gap,” takes a look at the efforts providers and payers are making, as well as how consumers receive these efforts. The results indicate that while providers and payers are pouring resources into consumer engagement tactics, the efforts seem to have fallen short of a large majority of their consumer base.
The survey shows that last year, health plans put just over a third of investment dollars toward consumer-centric goals. Additionally, 80 percent of the health plans surveyed ranked these goals as extremely high priority. This focus has led to not only major (and costly) staffing changes within payer organizations, but also a substantial investment in technology to improve customer service and member education.
Contrast these efforts to the reactions from the consumers surveyed: only a fifth felt their experience has improved over the past 18 months, and roughly the same amount actually thought their experience worsened. Interestingly, millennials, individual insurance members and Medicare Advantage members were most likely to see improvement (31%, 39% and 37%, respectively).
It is also worth noting that while health plans and providers alike ranked their top-performing technology solutions without consideration to market segmentation, the different generations were widely varied in their technology preferences. For instance, across the board, providers and health plans agreed that email and website were the most successful technologies, while telemedicine and wearable tech ranked lower (wearable tech was actually last). However, while close to a third of baby boomers reported they were most likely to use website and email, millennials prefer to engage using mobile apps, telemedicine and wearable tech. Original Medicare members also preferred email, while individual insurance members preferred mobile apps.
This survey serves as a reminder that the healthcare market encompasses one of the most diverse groups of consumers. To attract new members and retain current ones, health plans must continue to evolve their engagement strategies from “one-size-fits-all” to a tailored, consumer-centric approach that meets members’ needs.
BioIQ’s Expanded Engagement Capabilities
BioIQ’s latest release includes new tools that empower organizations to create more effective wellness and screening programs. BioIQ now offers enterprises and health plans a comprehensive toolset for driving engagement before, during and after a screening program through an enhanced digital health coaching app for program participants, an updated health assessment, and security enhancements to BioIQ HealthSync.
To learn more how BioIQ’s advanced engagement capabilities can health plans reach more members, call (888) 818-1594 or email sales@bioiq.com.