What Are Health Consumers Looking For?
The U.S. spends more than any other country on health care –over 16% of US GDP, or slightly over $2 trillion. Despite the spending, a recent Commonwealth Fund survey found that Americans had more trouble getting timely access to primary care than people living in Australia, Britain, and New Zealand.
Only Canada ranked worse of the five countries studied with comparable living standards. Just a third of Americans said they get to see their doctor on the day they call in ill.
While getting access to the initial care can be difficult in the US, getting the best and most complex technology the world has to offer is most accessible in the US compared to any other country in the world. So, what is often most needed in the US is a better first line of defense in diagnosing, treating and guiding patients for the most commonly encountered ailments. This area has often been ignored by the major medical technology companies and pharmaceutical firms who are focused on oral medication and invasive surgical solutions.
Often what consumers are looking for from a visit to their family physician is some sound medical guidance in a friendly, convenient, timely and understandable way. Bureaucratic insurance policies, mounting frivolous mal-practice liability claims and a host of other contributing factors are making a visit to the Doctor’s office or Emergency Room a less friendly, less convenient, more costly and less informative experience. Doctors and nurse practitioners often have to rush from patient to patient just to cover the over head and do not have time to inform the patient as they use to do.
More and more patients empowered with credible medical information on their conditions from searching the web, demand to be better informed about their specific condition and what the best treatment options might be for their specific circumstances. In fact, over 35% of web searches and internet traffic are concerned with health and wellness issues. This is more than any other single source of web traffic and continues to grow. In this void of customer satisfaction with primary care, new health offerings are reaching out to proactive consumers directly and with remarkable growth and success offering a better first line of defense with less down side risk and fewer oral medications.