Health systems are increasing their investment in digital care tools, yet 61 percent of patients skipped their medical appointments due to unsatisfactory experiences with digital technology, MM+M reported Nov. 28.
Intelligent automation platform Notable surveyed 1,000 adult patients about their digital health experiences and found the following:
- Sixty-three percent of patients said their physicians' digital tools weren't meeting their expectations.
- Forty-one percent of patients said they changed physicians due to a bad digital experience.
- Most patients are facing difficulties with online scheduling.
- Despite the availability of online tools, 70 percent of patients reported being redirected to phone calls when scheduling appointments via a portal or platform.
"Our survey data shows that when care is difficult to access, many patients simply don't go to the doctor," said Carle Falk, head of research at Notable. "[They're] avoiding medical visits because the appointment-booking process is confusing and takes far too much time and effort."