Consumers don’t care about a health system’s external awards, right? Well, not necessarily.
That’s one thing we learned as part of Core Health’s inaugural research study, “Perspectives in Health and Healthcare.” This research was designed to identify key drivers of healthcare choice so our clients – healthcare marketers – could leverage this information when branding and positioning their health systems.
The study was conducted in partnership with Cheryl Stone & Associates as a nationwide, online panel survey from Oct. 25, to Nov. 5, 2018. A total of 1,501 interviews were completed with a confidence level of 95%. Quotas were used to ensure replication of the U.S. population.
As part of the study, we assessed six drivers of healthcare choice consumers were asked to evaluate as part of our research study. These drivers included innovation, performance and results; caring and compassion; a care experience personalized to meet needs and preferences; a focus on wellness and prevention; and convenience.
The most important symbol of quality in a health system is “professional ratings such as star ratings or a high rank relative to other health systems.” However, it is also important to address symbols that smaller segments considered very important, such as consumer ratings or external appearance of facilities, in order to reach all segments of the market.
When asked, “What is important in showing you that a health system is innovative?” respondents ranked professional ratings by Healthgrades, U.S. News & World Report or other ratings services as the largest symbol of quality for health systems. Other highly ranked symbols of quality included the external appearance of facilities and the size of a health system (relative to the number of locations). A smaller percentage, 26%, found consumer/patient ratings (e.g. ratings on Yelp! Facebook and other social media) to be very important.
Why do consumers value external ratings as the most important symbol of quality? While our research didn’t dive this deeply, our experience suggests that:
Consumers were least likely to rate visibility (defined as seeing a logo or name on buildings throughout the community) as a symbol of quality. It is possible that visibility could serve as more of a subliminal indicator of quality.
Performance and results emerged as the top driver for consumer choice across the board, but those in the South and Americans older than 65 are even more likely to choose a healthcare provider based on this criteria.
While respondents older than 65 are more likely to rate performance and results as very important, those ages 21-44 are significantly more likely to search for this information prior to using care.
Those aged 65 and older were significantly more likely than others to believe that an integrated health system offers a big advantage. (The following details opinion regarding performance/results.)
It’s important that they have the best reviews so I know I’m getting the best doctors in the area.
It matters to me if the facility is well maintained. It gives me more confidence when I go there
In order to understand the degree of quality variance perceived by consumers, respondents were asked to rate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements. More consumers believe there is a wide range of quality variance.
Performance and results is just one of the key drivers assessed as part of Core Health’s inaugural research study. Download the complete white paper here to learn how other key drivers performed.
Stephanie Burton, APR is the Director of Healthcare Marketing at Core Creative.
The original version of this page was published at: https://health.corecreative.com/insights/do-external-health-system-awards-really-matter/
Core Health® is Core Creative's specialized healthcare marketing practice. We help clients turn their brand into a competitive advantage, leading them through a scalable brand strategy process. Cor... Read more
