Millennial Generation Changing Healthcare
Dr. Osama AbouElkhir
CEO @TachyHealth | Driving value-based healthcare forward with AI and Data Science
Seeing the generational change will be essential to understand the behavior of healthcare consumers in the near future. Millennials were born to be #digital.
Let's play a game here, what we will call "Game-Gen"
You need to pick someone (referred as he) who was born 1982-2004 (the Millennial Generation). You need to know him very well, especially from behavioral perspective and his interaction with the world around him.
- Think about his purchasing process of any service or product. Think about his selection process and how he arrives to the purchase decision
- Think about his influencers and the group of people who are facilitating his purchasing process "circle of trust"
Answering these two simple questions, will give you a clear understanding of the generational changes we are facing as a healthcare industry. Let's think about the answers for "Game-Gen" together.
Probably, the millennial you know, will be very conscious buyer. He knows the difference between what he needs and what he wants. He understands what the advertisers trying to sell to him and don't believe them. He is very open to the world. In many cases, his perception of the best has very high standards than what has been perceived as the best for many years. In fact, he doesn't appreciate what have been told to him by the community as the best!
He will tweet or post a status around his intent of buying something he needs. Influencers around him will start to think collectively and will advise throughout the process. They will share their personal experiences, including price customer service, specification, and their post-purchase experience. This group will be confined to his generation and many of them will be ONLY virtual friends. He might also ask Google, watch YouTube, read Pinterest recommendation, or visit a rating websites to verify the insights he got. He will enjoy every single moment of this on his mobile.
Reflecting this in healthcare, your patients are probably coming from different generations (generation X and baby boomers). However, his/her millennial son or daughter will highly affect the selection of a critical decision, such as picking hospital / service over the others. This is exaggerated in the region due to 2 facts: the family bonds are very strong, and the majority of the population are millennial individuals. So, Millennials are critical to you, today. Those individuals will get older and will be your patients in 10-15 years from now. The above mentioned thinking process will be applied definitely and comprehensively to any interaction with healthcare. So, Millennials will become more critical to you, in the near future.
Now, let's ask more questions to understand the travelling distance needed to match the very high expectations of the Millennials:
- How #digital is your healthcare brand?
- How many top healthcare executives belong to the millennial generation in your organization?
- Have you planned and executed the #digital and #smart health initiatives for your organization?
- Have you started to plan for the experience needed to match the expectations of the Millennials?
Having seen and worked with many hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and imaging centers, I could say honestly, we have a long distance to travel. However, we can start today :)
______________________________________________________________
Thank you really for reading my post today. I write about healthcare, digital health, smart health, social media, performance improvement, as well as mega-trends in technology.
Osama AbouElkhir, is a medical doctor, entrepreneur, and healthcare advisor based in Dubai with primary focus on MENA region.
Image credit: Wire
Operations Manager at C.C.A. - "Baylor Club"- McLane Stadium - Baylor University.
9 年Im just happy to see something informative, educational, and relevant Posted.
Healthcare Licensing, Regulatory Compliance & Accreditation Expert
9 年Ms. Kramer, thank you so much for your point of view. You're right, I do speak for myself, as that is the only experience I can rightfully draw from. Having been raised by a physician father who founded the first pediatric ICU in the state of Minnesota and continues to provide care to thousands of patients, I've benefited from a first-hand experience with physicians and healthcare in general. So, while I've not raised an MD as you suggest, I have been raised by one. My comment was simply to suggest that we, all professionals working in healthcare, consider the idea that healthcare is not the same as it was when physicians made house calls. Thank you for commenting and creating some great discussion.
HIT Executive developing and growing opportunities for innovative Medical Devices.
9 年Very true! Healthcare entities must implement mobile technologies offering transparency in the #patientexperience to meet the expectations of millennials and future generations.
Business Development for Elder Care Law Services, Senior Services-Long-Term Care Planning and Asset Protection
9 年Interesting article about family influences and decision makers in an individual's care--very relevant to marketing healthcare services.
Healthcare Licensing, Regulatory Compliance & Accreditation Expert
9 年An excellent article. I would suggest that while Millennials will be your patients in the next 10-15 years, they are already your customers as they often navigate the information you provide for their parents/grandparents/uncles/aunts/etc. Do not make the mistake of believing that healthcare is in a different realm than any other product. Millennials know how to find information on your organization and will most definitely weigh you against your competitors. Consider Zappos.com: their customer service, how they respond to dissatisfaction, information they provide. Millennials view your organization in the same light and expect you to provide similar services. If you are not offering that, the healthcare organization across town may be primed to gain a customer.