Healthcare has shifted to a consumer-centric business model, where patients increasingly approach seeking care like they would any other major purchase. 

They spend time online researching procedures and reading reviews of providers before making decisions. They demand greater transparency in procedures and pricing. And they’re driving the biggest changes in the care landscape.

Keeping up with these emerging trends in the increasingly consumerist world of healthcare can help your healthcare organization stay ahead of the competition and create a more engaging patient experience. 

1. Easier Access to Information

In the past, paying for healthcare was an opaque process between the insurance company and the care provider. Patients had little to no role beyond paying their insurance premiums every month.

With the rise of high deductible health plans (HDHPs) and other shifts in healthcare that place higher financial responsibility on the patient, transparency is a growing concern. Patients need more information about their financial obligations now than ever, which is causing many to take a more consumerist approach to healthcare.

Today, integrated software solutions give consumers more visibility into the overall costs of care. Additionally, pre-pay features tell them how much they can expect to pay for specific services, helping them plan for upcoming expenditures — and reducing your risk of write-offs and late payments.

For example, a billing solution with a self-service portal gives patients a convenient, user-friendly way to:

• View payment history
• Check account balances
• Learn more about care received
• View estimates for upcoming treatments
• Contact support for answers to questions

This kind of transparency can help build trust with your patients, leading to higher patient satisfaction and better overall experiences.

2. Expansion of Digital Payment Options

Giving patients more options for how they pay creates a more flexible, convenient experience, which boosts healthcare digital engagement and reduces late payments. It’s especially important for increasing engagement with younger healthcare consumers who grew up with technology in virtually every part of their lives.

Members of Gen Z have strong payment preferences, and most will abandon transactions if the organization does not accept their preferred payment method. As digital natives, they typically prefer fast, intuitive online payment methods that include but are not limited to:

• Mobile pay
• Text-to-pay
• Self-service payment portals
• Dynamic QR codes
• Photo capture

However, providing more traditional payment options like paper-based bills is also important for engaging patients in older, less digitally connected generations. 

Choosing a user-friendly digital payment and patient engagement solution can help you meet all your patients’ needs by expanding your ability to accept various forms of payment. Look for an integrated platform that can accept both paper and digital payments to increase flexibility and appeal to patient preferences.

3. Personalized Treatment and Custom Care Management

Today’s patients are used to personalized service in every other area of their lives, from the ads they see to the groceries they buy. Patient data and advanced analytics platforms are essential for delivering personalized service at every stage of the customer journey. AI-powered platforms can collect and analyze massive amounts of data much faster than a human data scientist, enabling you to uncover important insights in real time.

Some examples of how data analytics can help you create a personalized patient experience include:

• Tailored communications: An advanced solution enables patients to choose how and when they want your organization to contact them, increasing the chances your messages get read and reducing the risk of missed payments.
• Preferred payment channels: Providing a range of payment options allows patients to choose how they pay, making it easier to secure payments from people who are on the go.
• Care coordination: When a patient is seeing multiple providers and specialists, those parties must work together to provide safe, effective care that truly meets the patient’s needs. A centralized platform that houses patient data helps them keep track of what the other members of the care team have done to create a custom care plan.

4. Prioritizing Patient Convenience in Care and Payments

The burden of paying for healthcare is increasingly shifting from insurers to patients, and a tech solution that streamlines post-visit payments improves the likelihood of receiving all payments. 

Providing more convenient options can help boost healthcare patient engagement and enhance your organization’s profitability. Some examples of those options include:

• Self-service portal: A self-service patient payment portal that integrates with your electronic health record (EHR) platform gives patients convenient access to their medical information so they understand what they’re paying for.
• Saved cards: A platform that adheres to PCI-DSS standards enables patients to save their preferred credit or debit cards in their account for quick and easy payments, even on the go.
• Digital and mobile pay: According to Pew Research, 90% of Americans own a smartphone — and many of those people also own other mobile devices like tablets and smartwatches. Mobile and digital payment options enable patients to pay from any device that works for them, expanding access and convenience.

Implementing a comprehensive patient experience software platform that integrates with the rest of your system can help you expand patient access with user-friendly, self-service features that boost engagement and improve cash flow.

5. Expanding Sites of Care

We saw an explosion in telehealth services in 2020, as providers and patients alike strove to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Patients who did not need urgent care stayed home and called in to their providers, only going in if their appointment required further evaluation or testing. 

Now that the pandemic has subsided, busy patients often find it challenging to make appointments when their provider is more than 20 minutes away. Unfortunately, though, very few healthcare organizations can open more branches to be closer to their patients. 

It makes sense, then, that one of today’s biggest healthcare consumer needs is diverse sites of care, such as:

• In-person: Face-to-face visits will never go away, as most health conditions require an in-person evaluation to diagnose and monitor. Patient engagement software can help prevent no-shows by automatically reminding patients of upcoming appointments.
• Telehealth: Telehealth, also called telemedicine, uses communication technologies like videoconferencing and phone calls to enable remote clinical services. It’s often paired with in-person appointments to create a holistic health plan.
• Virtual care: A broad category that includes telehealth services, virtual care also refers to remote patient monitoring, virtual appointments, asynchronous provider messaging and more. 

Virtual sites of care, like telehealth and remote patient monitoring, require a centralized source of data to ensure a smooth, streamlined patient experience from end to end. This data hub is especially important when you consider that patients may not understand how insurance coverage and billing for virtual care compares to in-person visits. 

Get Ahead in 2025 With Help From Millennia

Building your healthcare tech stack to include modern solutions can help you keep up with these and other trends. An integrated payment platform is an excellent place to start. Millennia’s comprehensive platform provides a wide range of features and capabilities healthcare organizations need to enable smooth, seamless patient touch points and payments. 

Learn how the Millennia Patient Payment Solution can enhance the patient experience and improve your organization’s cash flow. Request a free consultation with one of our experts today.