American consumers want more from their health care system than they're currently getting - greater online connection to health care providers and medical records, customized insurance coverage and wider access to emerging innovations such as retail clinics, a new survey from Deloitte reveals.
At the same time, they express anxiety about future health care costs - only 7 percent say they're adequately prepared financially - and increasingly search for alternative medicines and services that can save them money and offer convenience. But many also say they are willing to pay extra for wellness programs, and to support or consider tax increases to cover the uninsured.
The "2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers," a representative poll of more than 3,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 75, was conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (www.deloitte.com/us/healthcareconsumersurvey). It was directed by Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, and William Copeland, Jr., national managing director of the Life Sciences and Health Care practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP.
"More than anything, the findings convince us that Americans no longer see themselves only as patients, but as consumers who want to take greater control of their health care," Keckley said. "Consumers will redefine our health care market, but how they do it is the most important strategic question the health care industry must answer."
Copeland said the survey's scope makes it one of the most thorough and comprehensive efforts to date to measure consumer attitudes, behaviors and unmet needs. "We believe these attitudes and consumer demands could have a transformative impact on the way health care services and products are developed," he said.