According to Kaufman Hall’s 2019 Consumerism in Healthcare report, 88% of U.S. hospital and health system executives admit to feeling vulnerable to non-hospital competitors—in particular, CVS Health, Amazon, UnitedHealth Group, and Optum, all of which they consider a “strong or extreme threat”.

Market disrupters, such as these, aim to divert patients from seeking healthcare as they traditionally have—at hospitals and doctor’s offices—and, instead, into their affordable, easily accessible, tech-savvy retail clinics. Meanwhile, hospital and health system execs have been slow to transform and have remained stagnant in their efforts to embrace consumerism and adopt digital strategies. For example, only 2% of survey respondents claimed their organization’s digital efforts were comparable to Amazon’s, and no one claimed to best them.

“These new entrants have superior data and analytics, along with expertise to develop digital care and engagement,” the report stated. “Hospitals and health systems must adapt to get a firm handhold on the rising bar of consumer expectations.”

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.