Poor Digital Health Experience May Push Patients to Change Docs

More than a quarter of patients switched medical providers because of a poor digital health experience, according to new data from Forrester collected on behalf of Cedar. These findings underscore the spotlight health IT has gained during the pandemic and how that technology can make or break the patient experience.

By and large, patient engagement technologies have seen a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey of about 1,500 adult patients showed. With regards to digital patient billing alone, text-based billing increased by 200 percent. Meanwhile, email and patient portal payment options increased by 82 and 34 percent, respectively.

But despite those increases in patient engagement technology use, medical consumers are looking for more from their providers. Patients cited certain consumer-facing apps like Netflix, Amazon, and Uber as posing good examples of a consumer technology experience.