US consumers are taking an increasingly active role in their health, seeking information from a variety of sources and considering new engagement models. As this trend continues, healthcare organizations must recognize that many of the assumptions that they have made about healthcare consumers no longer hold true. Addressing these changed expectations and interests can unlock substantial opportunity to engage consumers across their healthcare journeys more effectively and improve business results.

It’s not a simple challenge though. Consumers are diverse and expect that their specific needs and preferences will be met in the ways that they experience outside healthcare. With this in mind, we conducted surveys in 2023 and 2024 to understand what consumers are looking for to make their healthcare experiences easier (see sidebar “Research methodology”).

Improving consumer experience and engagement requires delivering against expectations across each consumer’s end-to-end healthcare journey (Exhibit 1). Broadly, payers should invest in streamlining member enrollment, benefit education, and payment; providers should ensure seamless multimodal continuity of care; and both can collaborate to simplify patients’ access to care and medication—and adherence to healthcare recommendations.

In this article, we address how healthcare organizations can respond to consumer trends and preferences and deliver value.

Six ways to upgrade the healthcare consumer experience

Some healthcare stakeholders continue to believe that consumers’ expectations of providers and payers differ from those they have for other industries, particularly regarding enhanced convenience, cost transparency, affordability, and the sources and people they trust for information. Our survey results, however, show that this is no longer true. Accordingly, we suggest six areas that healthcare organizations can reimagine to enhance consumer experience, consumer engagement, and their business performance.

Direct consumers to more expedient options

While some consumers prefer to be loyal to their usual doctors, respondents to the 2023 McKinsey Consumer Health Insights (CHI) Survey reported pursuing multiple avenues when unable to schedule appointments with their chosen providers (Exhibit 2). Although 27 percent of the 60 percent of surveyed consumers who reported hurdles in scheduling waited to visit their preferred doctor, the same proportion decided to schedule an appointment with a new provider. Furthermore, though 18 percent said they continued attempting (unsuccessfully) to see their preferred provider, many chose to visit a walk-in clinic, ask for a referral, or use virtual care instead.

This highlights health systems’ opportunity to invest further in improving timely access (for example, by optimizing capacity via dynamic scheduling and increasing virtual or walk-in options). Providing more walk-in options could be a solution that grows in importance, as proportionately more Gen Z consumer respondents than those from earlier generations chose to use a walk-in clinic or urgent care (31 percent versus 19 percent). Payers can also help members navigate options (for instance, by developing an express provider network that offers expedited care).

Improve the shopping experience with competitive pricing and cost transparency

The cost of care can play a role in how consumers make their care decisions, with 57 percent of 2024 CHI Survey respondents who found pricing information saying that it influenced where they sought care (Exhibit 3). Specifically, 76 percent of those respondents chose a lower- or medium-cost option. Providers with competitive out-of-pocket costs, therefore, have an opportunity to engage price-sensitive consumers—for example, through discounted nonurgent appointments during off-peak times.

Organizations can also work toward improving cost transparency, as finding care costs remains challenging. About 38 percent of respondents to the 2024 CHI Survey reported researching a provider’s cost in advance. In fact, nearly 49 percent of Gen Z respondents said that they looked up provider pricing ahead of time. For payers, consumers’ better management of their spending could improve medical cost performance by reducing unnecessary utilization and increasing the use of cost-effective options, such as primary care.

Publish educational medical content as trusted sources of information

While physicians are still the most trusted source for health information, consumers are also turning to other sources, like health information websites, according to the 2024 McKinsey Health Media Consumer (HMC) Survey (Exhibit 4). This trend could accelerate, considering that a smaller proportion of Gen Z respondents trust hospital systems and doctors compared with the overall population (50 percent versus 64 percent). Of those Gen Z respondents, 29 percent trusted health and wellness apps for information, 23 percent consulted social media, and 34 percent turned to family or friends.

Considering that consumers find value in the type and style of content on health information websites, provider and payer organizations can consider publishing educational content by creating their own, licensing third-party content, or using AI to support content creation (with controls in place to safeguard the relevance and accuracy of AI outputs). Well-targeted, high-quality content could better inform consumers, increase engagement, and build brand loyalty.

Use advertising to empower consumers

There can be a perception that consumers will react negatively to healthcare organizations’ sponsored content. However, of the 74 percent of respondents to the HMC survey who reported that they notice sponsored content at least sometimes, more than 70 percent find it helpful; this share was relatively consistent across age groups.

Proportions vary by journey, but the highest proportion of respondents reported that they’re likely to click on ads while on a health system’s website or when ads are personalized to a condition discussed in their most recent appointment. Key topics of interest include healthcare services and health and wellness products (Exhibit 5). When ads are tailored appropriately, they can help consumers become more empowered and help healthcare companies generate ad revenue while building consumer trust.

Augment the healthcare journey with integrated digital solutions

Given the tech industry’s interest in healthcare, it might be thought that large tech companies could displace legacy healthcare organizations. The 2024 CHI Survey indicates that this concern may be premature, given respondents’ lack of interest in involving tech companies in their health management—less than 10 percent said they desired health support from tech companies directly (see sidebar “Healthcare consumers and tech companies”). However, respondents were interested in digital products, particularly those that enable health information sharing with doctors, provide personalized health tips, and support adherence to a doctor’s recommendations (Exhibit 6). This suggests an opportunity for healthcare organizations to work with tech companies to integrate relevant tools seamlessly into healthcare journeys.

Apply strategic data sharing to enhance engagement and care delivery

Consumers have grown accustomed to filling out consent forms required to access care and for their medical results to be shared between their healthcare and insurance providers. But they have historically been selective about how they share personal data (such as socioeconomic, behavioral, and wellness information). However, this has changed: 74 percent and 61 percent of respondents, respectively, said in the 2024 CHI Survey that they would share not only their medical results but also their personal data with their primary care providers and health insurers (Exhibit 7). Critically, consumers were only willing to consent to such data sharing if the information was to be used to improve their health and wellness—for example, to receive medical advice and lifestyle tips to help avoid or address chronic conditions.

Increased willingness to share information creates opportunities for healthcare partners to think strategically about using consumer data to personalize engagement (such as text messages and emails) to nudge consumers along their health journeys (such as for care referral adherence and care management follow-up), inform diagnoses and care plans by using health data from personal devices (such as remote patient monitoring for fall detection) with appropriate security and privacy guardrails, and reward consumers who share data that show they are implementing healthy lifestyle practices (such as completing annual physicals).

Tactical approaches to address trends and increase consumer-centricity in healthcare

In our experience, healthcare organizations often tend to believe that there is a silver bullet to improve consumer engagement and satisfaction, and they plan initiatives that are targeted to specific settings, such as simply adding appointment reminders or setting up a rescheduling capability. In reality, an organization-wide strategy is needed, because the range of experiences that consumers in our survey noted as subpar are multifactorial and cross organizational silos. This takes time and focus: Change begins with developing cross-functional capabilities, building the governance structure to support the transformation, and embedding a consumer-centric culture. Healthcare can take cues from other industries on how to deliver a seamless consumer experience from start to finish.

Taking three tactical steps over a 12-month period can help healthcare players build a consumer-centric organization and realize its benefits:

1. Set a strategic vision that captures the overall value at stake and propels the organization to change its culture and ways of thinking about consumers.
2. Adopt an agile, consumer-centered operating model to refine innovations by using a test-and-learn model.
3. Build consumer-centric capabilities to reach and respond to consumers more effectively—by investing in, for example, defined metrics and personalized communications.

By surprising and delighting consumers multiple times over the course of a year, an organization can change even long-held beliefs and influence consumers’ attitudes and opinions.

As healthcare organizations face a challenging macroeconomic environment, consumer-centricity is becoming more critical to improve business results. It can help in acquiring new consumers, retaining existing consumers, increasing consumer engagement, improving healthcare outcomes, and lowering administrative costs. Leaders of healthcare organizations who invest in building strong consumer foundations will be well positioned to compete in a market that’s increasingly empowering consumers to own their healthcare journeys.

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