Hospitals embrace consumerism in theory, but find implementation difficult

While hospitals and large providers see the value and importance of fulfilling patients’ expectations in an increasingly value-based system, a new survey indicates few have the tools they need to implement consumer-focused strategies.

A report jointly issued by the services and analytics firm Kaufman Hall and Cadent Consulting Group details the wide gap between healthcare providers’ ambitions and capabilities with respect to prioritizing consumerism. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents from more than 100 U.S. hospitals and health systems indicated an interest in understanding and improving the patient experience, but only 18 percent reportedly had the means to act meaningfully on that interest.

The report also suggests strategic pricing as a logical way to appeal to consumers, but fewer than a third of respondents indicated this approach was a high priority for them, and a mere nine percent indicated they had implemented an advanced pricing strategy.

Healthcare organizations have come to see a consumer-centric approach as more of a strategic necessity than a competitive advantage, according to Paul Crnkovich, managing director at Kaufman Hall. “Emerging leaders recognize that in today’s healthcare environment, consumerism is not a program or a problem to be solved, but a key to growth,” he said in a statement

Translating the need for consumerism into action has proved difficult to date for a number of reasons, according to the report. Some respondents reported institutional pressures, such as resistance from doctors or pockets of skepticism that consumerism represents a high-enough priority to embrace the approach. 

Others cited technological challenges rendering them unable to collect sufficient data to generate an actionable plan: only 23 percent of respondents said they were able to gather sufficient strategic insights about their patients to act. The ability to collect good data was no guarantee of success, either, as only 16 percent of respondents said they currently had the organizational capability to turn consumer insights into actions.