Patient engagement and patient experience (PX) are areas of significant interest, focus, and concern in the US healthcare system and globally. Healthcare consumers’ expectations today require providers to be more customer centric. According to a new report from Dash Research, healthcare consumers expect to be treated as whole persons with individualized needs, not as problems to be solved, and they demand greater convenience, better access to care, and more seamless experiences.

Dash Research forecasts that global CX software and services revenue in the healthcare industry will increase from $8.8 billion in 2021 to $13.5 billion annually by 2026. During that forecast period, the functional areas with the highest levels of investment will include customer relationship management (CRM), customer data & analytics, and contact center solutions. Other notable areas of investment, according to the CX market intelligence firm, will include personalization & optimization, customer data platforms (CDPs), customer feedback, and employee experience (EX).

“As the experience economy becomes the new currency among healthcare consumers, improving the healthcare customer experience has become a strategic priority for healthcare providers in their efforts to build brand loyalty, retain customers, and drive profitability,” says senior analyst Andrew Broderick. “Although the market environment is driving organizations to act, the healthcare industry’s capacity to use technology and data to operationalize a consumer-centric patient experience models currently lags that in other industries. However, it is only a matter of time before their capacity will advance to transform the industry.”

Broderick adds that as consumer loyalty and retention become key drivers of profitability for healthcare providers, patients increasingly have more choices as to where and when they access and receive care. In a market where brand loyalty and customer retention are increasingly important competitive differentiators, patients want:

• Access and convenience (e.g., affordable care, ease of navigation, and frictionless continuity)
• To be seen as an individual and treated with respect
• To be engaged, consulted, and involved in decisions
• To trust, feel safe, and cared for by their healthcare providers

Dash Research’s analysis indicates that there are reasons for optimism when it comes to the market opportunities for improving patient experience. Healthcare organizations that prioritize PX understand that it signals their commitment to the patient, and also has the potential to establish the foundations for building deeper relationships that will contribute to improving care outcomes. From an operational perspective, healthcare organizations also recognize that provider behaviors play a role in PX management through the impact that their interactions with patients can have. Underscoring this recognition is their dual commitment to better support and address workforce experience as critical for delivering superior patient experience. The net result is that PX improvement efforts play a critical role in helping organizations establish competitive advantage in the battle for customer and workforce loyalty and retention.

Dash Research’s report, “CX in the Healthcare Industry”, forecasts the global market for CX/CE software and services to monitor a patient’s overall healthcare experience or their experiences with specific provider staff and service facilities. Dash Research calculated the current and future market potential for software and services, taking 2019 as the base year, and forecasting revenue growth through 2026. The primary product or service is broken into platforms, applications, and services. Vendor offerings are classified further into functional categories on the basis of whether the application focus is on employee experiences, customer experiences, or relationship management from a customer-facing or back-office perspective. Finally, market segmentation provides localized insights into the same industry segments across five world regions. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

About Dash Research

Dash Research, the market intelligence arm of Dash Network, provides in-depth research and insights on the worldwide CX market including a comprehensive assessment of technology solutions, business issues, market drivers, and end-user dynamics across industry sectors. Dash Research’s global market coverage combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide a complete view of emerging business opportunities surrounding contact center technologies, customer data & analytics, customer data platforms, customer insights & feedback, customer relationship management, personalization & optimization, and employee experience. For more information, visit www.dashresearch.com or call +1.720.603.1700.