The health care sector is always improving its methods for providing optimum service to patients and diagnosing chronic conditions. However, while changes are consistently being made, the industry may be facing its greatest influencer yet. Millennials – people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s – have grown up in a society that has always had technology, and because of this, they expect all parts of their lives to cater to this trend. Generation Y wants health care to meet their needs, and the sector has already made improvements to do so.
Gen Y wants convenience
Millennials are generally not in one place for very long. They switch jobs within a few years, move locations and do not sit still very often. Because of this, they want access to everything from any device. This includes their medical records. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of Americans own smartphones, which means they can use the Internet and mobile applications to view almost any information they desire. Along with researching on their own, Gen Yers also want to easily take care of medical appointment scheduling and pay their bills without having to go anywhere or talk on the phone, Diagnostic Imaging explained.
Luckily, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have begun to solve this problem with their Meaningful Use program. Through EHR software and patient portals, health care providers can offer their patients access to medical records and various communication methods. With a mobile health application, they will be able to cater to those needs even more. According to Xerox's annual EHR survey, 43 percent of millennials would like to access patient portals from their smartphones and 57 percent of them are interested in viewing their medical records. Doctors would be able to reach MU's Stage 2 requirement for patient engagement by making their methods more millennial-friendly.
New technology could improve health care
To get this level of convenience for Gen Y, doctors need to provide or work with the technology that can advance health care. In today's society, there are new methods for people to participate in their own health, from patient portals to wearable devices. While physicians provide the former, they can benefit millennials by incorporating the latter into their practices.
In a 2014 survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that more than 80 percent of consumers use wearable devices, such as fitness watches, to motivate them to live healthfully. However, this information can go to waste if they are the only ones using them. By sharing this data with health care providers, patients may see improved diagnoses and care because doctors will be able to make decisions based off of real-time information.
The data these devices provide may be able to improve health care and reduce costs across the sector. Because physicians will be monitoring their patients in real-time, they may be able to detect health issues long before they turn serious, which will cut costs and time for both patients and doctors and help set up payments, Diagnostic Imaging explained. They may also be able to find patterns and trends in their patients' health, which could help diagnose and develop treatment plans for similar conditions.
Millennials have grown up in a society that relies on technology to provide the timeliness and convenience it needs. Because of this, Gen Y expects all parts of the lives to reflect that trend. By taking into consideration the needs of this population, health care providers will be able to shape their methods for the future.
Contact Viztek for more information.
Ronny Bachrach
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