More consumers are using both online and in-person services, report suggests

A new report explores the integration of digital and physical health care, noting that American consumers are increasingly using digital tools and approaches to manage their care.

The report, from PYMNTS and CareCredit, is called “The Connected Economy—Omnichannel Healthcare takes center stage.” The report seeks to outline how digital and cross-channel health care options are reshaping delivery of care in the United States. To do so, the researchers surveyed 2,735 Americans, looking how consumers engaged with health care providers and focusing on which demographics favored which channels.

An omnichannel experience

The report found that health care consumption is becoming more like the retail experience with consumers, who are now using a mix of in-person and online channels. The survey showed that 46% of consumers engage with health care providers though both physical and digital interactions. Between 2021 and 2022, it found an increase of 8% in the percentage of Americans using both digital and in-person channels.

“Only a small and shrinking portion of patients use either physical or digital channels exclusively,” the report said. “Fifteen percent of patients see their health care providers using only physical channels, for example, and just 7% engage with their health care providers solely in person.”

The study also found a continuing rise in telemedicine, with 23% rise in telemedicine appointments with behavioral health specialists, and a 17% rise in telemedicine appointments with medical doctors between 2021 and 2022.

In addition, the research found a growing number of American consumers accessing online-only health care sites like Doctor On Demand. Online-only sites saw a 26% increase of usage between 2021 and 2022.

Not surprisingly, younger people have been quicker to use more digital services. Just over 66% of the Generation Z cohort said they engaged in both digital and in-person health care services, followed by Millennials (62%), Bridge Millennials (60%), Gen X (39%), and baby boomers/Seniors (30%).

The research also found that different age groups use different services online. “Patients in different age groups … tend to gravitate toward very different digital activities, choosing whichever best suits their personal health needs,” the report said. “The most common digital health care activity in which baby boomers and seniors engage, for example, is using a website or app provided by their physicians to access health care information, check appointments and lab results or make payments. Twenty-one percent of baby boomers and seniors use this type of patient portal.”

Inflation leads to a cut-back of utilization

The recent bad news on the economy has had an impact — consumers are feeling the effect of inflation, and it affects their spending, including in the area of health care.

The report found this was especially true of lower-income consumers. It found an 8% drop in engagement in any health care channel for those consumers earning less than $50,000, between 2021 and 2022. At the same time, health care access for those making more than $100,000 a year grew. “Health care engagement is highest among high-income consumers, regardless of whether they access their health care on-line, in-person or by using a mixture of both,” the report said.

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But even among lower-income consumers, online access of health services is growing. “The share of low-income consumers engaging with their health care professionals online but not in person has increased 6% since November 2021,” the report said. “This suggests that digital health care options are growing more critical for low-income consumers, and this trend shows no sign of slowing.”