Consumers Willing To Pay For E-Health Services

At least one out of every three consumers would prefer to manage their health benefits online, according to a recent study by Deloitte Consulting.

The consulting group says that more than a third of consumers who seek health and medical information on the Internet -- which it calls e-health consumers --are willing to pay a monthly fee to manage their benefits online.

About 25 percent would switch healthcare plans to be able to do so, according to a study released today Thursday by the firm's Deloitte Research group at the eHealthcare Tour in Chicago. Deloitte says that the findings, based on a survey of more than 1,000 adult Internet users nationwide, contradict the opinion of many industry experts who say that the business-to-consumer (B2C) health-care market has limited growth potential.

"Contrary to many industry perceptions, there's life in the B2C health-care market -- provided companies know what consumers are willing to pay for," Graham Pallett, a principal in Deloitte's health-care practice, said.

"E-health consumers are willing to pay for real-time convenience and customization services, however, they expect to get their content free of charge. Our data also show that e-health consumers are not just looking to health plans or hospitals to fulfill their demands. It's an open playing field."

Pallet said that the future of the B2C health-care market looks promising, but health-care organizations still have much to learn about new economy strategies.

He says that if they are going to succeed those organizations need to begin adopting a customer-centric focus and using e-enabled strategies to integrate services, capture market share and improve customer loyalty.

"Patients are being empowered by the readily available resources online, and they expect more from the current health-care system. Their loyalty is definitely up for grabs. The question is, will there be any takers?"

The findings are part of a larger Deloitte Research/Cyber Dialogue study of Internet users in the United States and their impact on the online health-care market. The study is the second in a three-part series on health care and the e-Business market. Among the major findings:

• Online interaction with doctors high in demand Twenty-five percent of e-health consumers are willing to pay for physician access and connectivity, and nearly 20 percent are willing to switch health plans to do so. Fifty percent of e-health consumers say they also want direct access to their doctors rather than going through an intermediary. The research also discusses how leveraging physician-to-consumer connectivity will yield significant opportunities.
• E-Health consumers demand more than content The e-health space is evolving from a focus on content to relevance: While consumers are willing to pay to manage benefits and access their doctors online, they are not willing to pay for basic information, such as physician or hospital report cards from health care organizations' Web sites. Only one in 10, for instance, is willing to pay for hospital report cards.
• Neither incumbents or dot-coms have captured e-health consumer attention With very few exceptions, e-health consumers say it doesn't matter who provides them with content, convenience or customized services. While pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $2 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising in 1999, findings confirm that incumbents and pure-plays have yet to focus on the true demands of the exploding e-health population.