Deb Gordon – Forbes 12/2/2021

New data released this week from Press Ganey, a healthcare experience analytics company, reveals the ascendance of consumer shopping behavior—and its potential importance to healthcare providers. According to the 1,000-person national study, consumers are increasingly shopping online for healthcare services, particularly when choosing healthcare providers.  

More than half (51%) of consumers surveyed reported using the internet to find and select a new primary care provider.

Consumers reported using an average of three different online sources when looking for a provider.

• Search engines were used by 65% of respondents,
• insurance websites by 45%
• hospital or health system sites by 43%. 

Of consumers who searched for providers online, 78% used Google, 27% used WebMD, and nearly 20% used Facebook, double the rate that reported using social media for health information in a recent PatientsLikeMe survey.

Each year, the trend toward consumerism—patients relying more on their own online research and comparison shopping than on referrals from others—has increased, according to Andrei Zimiles, senior vice president of consumerism solutions at Press Ganey.

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