Pharma Websites Top Hospital and Health Insurance Websites in Customer Satisfaction

For the Third Year in a Row, ForeSee Results Healthcare Benchmark Shows Big Gap

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ForeSee Results today announced that in its third annual healthcare benchmark, websites for pharmaceuticals and medical products top the list in terms of customer satisfaction. Hospital websites also greatly outperform the websites of health insurance companies. On the ForeSee Results benchmark’s 100-point scale, pharmaceutical websites received an aggregate score of 79, while hospitals scored a 77, and health insurance websites received an aggregate score of 51.

ForeSee Results’ healthcare benchmark is composed of satisfaction scores for browsers on more than 50 different kinds of private- and public-sector healthcare websites including hospital, insurance, government, pharmaceutical, and consumer sites like Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, the Department of Health and Human Services, GlaxoSmithKline, the NIH, the National Cancer Institute, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Proctor & Gamble and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Today’s published healthcare benchmark includes more than 80,000 completed customer surveys during August and September of this year.

“The online channel can provide customers with better quality information and lower costs without compromising the quality of service, and it can do it with or without major legislation and reform,” said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results.

With an aggregate score of 79 on the benchmark’s 100-point scale, websites for healthcare products and pharmaceuticals scored the highest overall satisfaction for all types of healthcare categories measured. The score of 79 is an aggregate of the individual companies’ measured scores, which ranged from 70-85 (80 is generally considered the threshold for excellence).

The benchmark for hospitals and health systems is also at a relatively high level of 77, compared to many non-healthcare benchmarks ForeSee Results monitors. Hospital websites included in the benchmark have scores ranging from 62 to 88, a 26-point spread.

“Our mission is rooted in serving our communities, so it’s especially important for us to measure and understand the satisfaction of our online visitors,” said Michael A. Nelson with Allina Hospitals & Clinics. “With the insight gained from Foresee Results and other tools, we are able to improve the experience for our customer, and show the results in a measurable way.”

Health insurance websites (with an aggregate score of 51) came in last among the measured healthcare categories. However, many health insurance websites are doing very well with scores in the 70’s, but the lower scoring websites bring the aggregate down. The measured health insurance websites ranged from 34 to 74, a huge 40-point gap indicating an industry without a clear set of best online practices and a lot of maturing to do.

The Department of Defense’s TRICARE health insurance website is one of the highest-scoring insurance websites. “Through measuring customer satisfaction on our website and by understanding what our users are looking for, we can deliver tailored information to our beneficiaries based on who they are, where they live, and what TRICARE plan they use,” said Chris Molieri with TRICARE. “Our goal is to exceed our customer's expectations by quickly providing them with the information they need to make informed healthcare decisions. The customer satisfaction analysis helped make this possible and we continue to use it to build on our success.”

ForeSee Results applies the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to help organizations understand how improvements to specific aspects of the online experience, such as navigation and site performance, will positively affect overall satisfaction, likelihood to do business with the organization, and loyalty. Inside knowledge into customers’ and site browsers’ likely future behaviors empowers organizations to prioritize site enhancements and allocate resources efficiently.

"Because the online survey exists on so many health-related websites, we get invaluable business intelligence and performance benchmarking,” said Gerri Michael-Dyer with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). “This provides us with real-time customer feedback on where our sites are doing well and where improvement is needed. Recommendations coupled with usability reviews also contribute to effective redesign efforts.”

Perhaps the most dramatic proof that healthcare websites can and should be focusing on customer satisfaction in a down economy comes from benchmark statistics about future behaviors. When compared to less satisfied visitors, highly satisfied visitors to a healthcare information website report being:

• 123% more likely to return to a website

• 137% more likely to recommend the website

• 113% more likely to use the website as their primary resource for interacting with a healthcare organization, instead of using more costly channels like call centers or office locations.

“It just makes good business sense to satisfy your customers,” added Freed. “Since healthcare is an industry that is doing a lot of great work related to the online customer experience, the benchmarks are robust and it’s really easy to get a sense of where you stand compared to your peers.”

About ForeSee Results

As the leader in customer satisfaction measurement, ForeSee Results captures and analyzes voice of customer data to help organizations increase loyalty, recommendations and marketing value. Using the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ForeSee Results identifies improvements across all channels and touch points that drive customer satisfaction. With over 50 million survey responses collected to date and benchmarks across dozens of industries, ForeSee Results offers unparalleled expertise in customer satisfaction measurement and management for clients across a range of healthcare-oriented industries.

ForeSee Results, a privately held company, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on the web at www.ForeSeeResults.com. Connect with ForeSee Results (www.ForeSeeResults.com/connect.html)



CONTACT:

ForeSee Results
Sarah Allen-Short, 734-327-3852
[email protected]

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Michigan

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Internet  Health  Hospitals  Pharmaceutical  Professional Services  Insurance  Managed Care

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