Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
WHY 21ST CENTURY CONSUMERS WANT MORE THAN 20TH CENTURY HEALTHCARE
Voting for
VIRTUAL HEALTH
While health consumers give a strong vote of confidence for virtual healthcare, few are being offered the services they are prepared to use. This signals a wake-up call for providers, payers and policy makers who are not yet transforming health and care services. Consumers are clear: In the 21st century, 20th century healthcare is not good enough.
A recent Accenture survey reveals significant US consumer interest in a wide range of health and care services provided virtually. When asked which of 16 services they would like to receive virtually, more than half of the services were of interest to 70 percent or more of respondents; all of the services were of interest to at least 50 percent of respondents. Whether having a telemedicine clinical encounter with a physician, telehealth support such as medication-related reminders or tracking health indicators such as blood pressure and blood sugars, or receiving daily support to manage an ongoing health issue, consumers are ready to try virtual healthcare.
HEALTHCARE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Finding the best combination of traditional in-person services and making those same services available virtually can offer consumers the choice they want in deciding when and how they receive care and support. Today’s health consumers clearly expect to exercise that choice—85 percent of respondents said they are personally in charge of their own health and care. Healthcare organizations need to pay attention to the power of consumer choice—or risk being left behind.
Care delivered via telehealth or telemedicine services can transform the consumer experience. For example, both a patient and a physician can listen to a heartbeat simultaneously, even when in different locations, using a digital stethoscope, providing a far more immersive experience for the patient. For some consumers, virtual provides a more enhanced experience compared with traditional care. Digitally augmented, highly visual, video-based interactions place the consumer and healthcare professional at eye-level and provide a more focused interaction, emphasizing collaborative care.
WHAT IS VIRTUAL HEALTH? Virtual health is healthcare services that are technology-enabled and provided independent of time or location. With virtual health consumers can access a full range of health services to remain healthy, diagnose or treat an illness or injury, or manage an ongoing condition. The range of enabling technologies includes video, mobile applications, secure e-mail and messaging, social platforms, sensors and more.
WHY VIRTUAL HEALTH? The majority of consumers are not only in favor of virtual health, their expectations about choice and availability run high. There are three reasons why payers and providers need to act now to meet expectations and accelerate virtual health adoption, so that even consumers not yet familiar with this transformative approach can benefit from these pioneering services:
1. Virtual Health can make innovators market leaders.
2. Virtual Health makes desired services easily accessible and widely available.
3. Virtual health fuels broader business and industry benefits.
Virtual health can make innovators market leaders
FIGURE 1. The vast majority of consumers are ready to receive healthcare virtually
77%
76%
74%
74%
73%
72%
72%
70%
69%
65%
63%
58%
57%
54%
53%
50%
Track my health status (blood pressure, blood glucose, pulse rate)
Have a follow-up appointment (after seeing a doctor or healthcare professional)
Get follow-up care services in my home after being hospitalized
Get reminders to do things that help me stay healthy
Discuss a specific health concern with a doctor or other healthcare people
Get daily support to manage an ongoing health issue
Get reminders to take my medications
Have an exam for a non-urgent condition (rash, sore throat, sinus condition)
Participate in family member’s (child or elderly parent) medical appointment
Attend a class about a specific condition you have (such as diabetes)
Receive a diagnosis about a new condition
Have an annual physical exam
Have an exam by a specialist physician for an urgent concern (heart condition)
Participate in a support group
Receive mental health counseling/therapy
Participate in mental health group therapy
���������������
Considering 16 different healthcare service options, at least 50 percent of those surveyed were interested in receiving any of the services virtually. Impressively, half of the proposed services were of interest to 70 percent or more of the respondents if available as virtual health services (Figure 1).
Despite the strong interest in virtual health, only 21 percent of surveyed consumers said they have actually received healthcare virtually. The gap between consumer interest and the availability of virtual health services provides an opportunity for those who move quickly to expand existing or implement new services. It is also an opportunity to expand consumer awareness of virtual health options and further grow the market.
And while 73 percent of consumers had some awareness of virtual health, only 5 percent of those surveyed said they “know a lot” about virtual health. Twenty-seven percent had “never heard of” virtual healthcare. Increasing consumer knowledge of, and familiarity with, virtual health will expand interest and demand (Figure 2).
FIGURE 2. Consumer awareness of virtual healthcare
32%36%27% 5%Know a lot
Never heard of it Heard of it but know nothing Know a little
1.
Source: Accenture 2017 Consumer Survey on Virtual Health
Source: Accenture 2017 Consumer Survey on Virtual Health
Probably or would definitely do virtually...
The best ways to engage this untapped market are also illustrated in the survey. The top three drivers for consumers who have received care virtually are: greater convenience than traditional in-person healthcare services (37 percent), familiarity using technology to manage their health (34 percent) and curiosity to try virtual health (34 percent). As Figure 3 shows, these first three drivers are intrinsic to people who are prepared to experiment—these are the consumers at the front of the standard adoption bell curve.
Where it becomes interesting for healthcare organizations is in fueling the bell curve peak. Encouragement to “try virtual” from either physicians (44 percent) or health plans (31 percent) are important adoption drivers for those “less interested” in virtual health today (Figure 4).
FIGURE 3. The top three reasons why consumers tried virtual health: Convenience, digital health savviness and curiosity
It was more convenient than traditional, in-
person services
My employer encouraged me
My physician encouraged me
My health plan encouraged me
More likely No more or less likely Less likely
45%
39%
16%
17%
50%
33%
44%
41%
16%
31%
49%
20%
Q830 If the following were actual situations about receiving healthcare virtually, would you be less likely, nomore or less likely, or more likely to do so?
Base: not very interested in virtual healthcare (n=100)
FIGURE 4. Reasons for hesitant consumers to try virtual health
Source: Accenture 2017 Consumer Survey on Virtual Health
I use technology in all aspects of my life and want to do the same with healthcare
It was more convenient than traditional, in-person health services
I was curious to try getting healthcare services virtually
���������������
37%
34%
34%
Impact of situations on likelihood to receive healthcare virtually (Among those not very interested)
Source: Accenture 2017 Consumer Survey on Virtual Health
Source: Accenture 2017 Consumer Survey on Virtual Health1 Think your patients are loyal? Think again, Accenture, 2016.
Consumers interested in virtual health represent a significant share of the total US population—68 percent of respondents under age 65 said they were somewhat or very interested in receiving healthcare virtually. These respondents include millennials and baby boomers, many of whom are also caring for the health and other needs of both children and aging parents.
Also interesting is the finding that virtual health appeals to some consumer segments that have been traditionally difficult to engage in healthcare such as men 18 to 34 years old, 27 percent of whom said they had received healthcare virtually.
Figure 5 illustrates the various motivations among a range of age groups for engaging in
their health and care. Designing a virtual health service portfolio that can adapt to the needs of different consumer segments is a key component of success.
Consumers may be passionate about healthcare but they are not necessarily loyal to healthcare organizations.1 By profiling and targeting consumers to offer the experiences they crave, services such as virtual visits and personalized follow up via text could be a reason why consumers remain loyal to a health system or provider. Virtual health can also make it easier to earn consumer recommendations through posting reviews and ratings on digital channels and social media.
18-34 35-49 50-64 65+
35-49 are more likely to cite weight loss as a motivator
Overall health maintenance and condition management motivate those age 65+
18-34 and 35-49 year-olds are more likely to be motivated by mental factors
At age 50-64, wanting to live longer becomes more of a motivator
FEEL BETTER MENTALLY
MANAGE STRESS
LIVE LONGER
LOSE WEIGHT
MAINTAIN HEALTH
MANAGE A CONDITION
26%40%40% 20%
48%46%42% 59%
34%39%23% 27%
45%34%29% 39%
19%32%29% 12%
28%21%24% 35%
FIGURE 5. Reasons consumers are motivated to manage their own healthcare (by age group)
Virtual health makes desired services easily accessible and widely available2.
Business growth and improved competitiveness are not the only returns from virtual health. Healthcare is one of the most labor intensive of all industries. At the same time, the US, like the rest of the world, is facing shortages of many clinicians and health professionals. Tight resources and demand that outpaces supply require new approaches and virtual health innovation can deliver services that are scalable, less labor intensive and lower cost.
There is a vast, untapped opportunity2 for healthcare organizations to expand capacity and lower costs by combining in-person with virtual health services. For instance, applying virtual health to annual ambulatory patient encounters is estimated to save more than US$7 billion worth of primary care physician (PCP) time each year. The key to unlocking this economic value is consumer willingness to become involved in managing their own health. The virtual health survey clearly shows that consumers are ready to embrace technologies to help manage and engage in their health, collaborating with physicians and other clinicians.
Applying virtual health to annual ambulatory patient encounters is estimated to save more than US$7 billion worth of primary care physician (PCP) time each year.
Virtual health fuels broader business and industry benefits 3.
2 “Virtual Health: The Untapped Opportunity,” Accenture, 2015.
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITYIt is time for the industry to recognize that practicing medicine is practicing medicine and the channel by which it is delivered is irrelevant.
Provider and payer perceptions of what consumers want from healthcare interactions and services must change. Outdated approaches based on historical practices, along with the reimbursement policies and the regulatory barriers that reinforce them, need to be revised or replaced. Health systems and insurance plans are not the only stakeholders with a call to action. Virtual health opens up the potential for all industry players to maximize consumer choice with the greatest range of services offered both virtually, traditionally and in combination. The key is the flexibility to choose the right blend of traditional and virtual healthcare that is clinically sound, financially beneficial3 and can engage consumers more fully on their own terms.
With consumers at the center of service design, providers can create their virtual health roadmap by taking an inventory of virtual services currently offered, prioritizing services to integrate with in-person models and offering new services that can be implemented both virtually and in-person.
Both public and private payers need to accelerate the movement to reimburse equally for the care that is provided, whether in-person or virtually. And, as the survey illustrates, payer encouragement is a way to engage more consumers with virtual health. Like providers, many payer-provided health services, whether care management, health and wellness programs, or health education and information services, can be transformed with virtual approaches and digital technologies.
Policy makers must recognize consumers’ desire for health services access and convenience by removing historical barriers such as reimbursement constraints and impediments to cross-state clinical practice. Continued innovation with value-based reimbursement will help to unlock the full potential of virtual approaches. It is also key that regulators move at a pace. Increasingly, the rapid innovation of digital medical technologies enables a full range of evaluation and clinical diagnosis to happen remotely or even self-administered by patients.
Healthcare organizations that act now will enter the market while virtual health is still in its growth phase, avoiding the pitfalls of late market entry or being challenged to capture market share and differentiate in a mature market.
When it comes to healthcare, providers, payers and policy makers must shift from 20th century to 21st century thinking. The power is in the hands of healthcare professionals to seize the first mover advantage and spur virtual health adoption. Our surveyed consumers have made the case—and their vote of confidence shows they are ready.
3 Ibid
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Frances DareMANAGING DIRECTOR AND VIRTUAL HEALTH LEAD ACCENTURE
ACCENTURE 2017 CONSUMER SURVEY ON VIRTUAL HEALTH
Accenture commissioned a survey of 1,501 US-based consumers ages 18 years and older to assess how active healthcare consumers are in relation to their own health and healthcare; potential motivators that induce healthcare consumers to be more involved; how consumers prefer to receive healthcare services (including in-person and virtual), and consumer levels of interest in and comfort with receiving healthcare services virtually. The online survey was conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Accenture between September 28 and October 5, 2016. Data were weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, income, household size, Internet use and insurance status.
CONNECT WITH US
@AccentureHealth
AccentureHealth
ABOUT ACCENTURE INSIGHT DRIVEN HEALTH
Insight driven health is the foundation of more effective, efficient and affordable healthcare. That’s why the world’s leading healthcare providers and health plans choose Accenture for a wide range of insight driven health services that help them use knowledge in new ways—from the back office to the doctor’s office. Our committed professionals combine real-world experience, business and clinical insights and innovative technologies to deliver the power of insight driven health. For more information, visit: www.accenture.com/insightdrivenhealth.
ABOUT ACCENTURE
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 394,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com
Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved.
Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
