Healthcare Marketing Education

10 Insights into Physician Behavior to Increase Engagement - Part 2

Understanding physician behavior is the first step in increasing physician engagement. BroadcastMed provides physicians around the nation with the opportunity to participate in surveys throughout the year, and the data we gather provides valuable information to more effectively measure and understand physician behavior. In our previous blog, we offered data into the first five insights we received from our most recent surveys. In this blog, we will cover five more insights those creating content for physicians may find invaluable. 

6. Physician Reviews and Patient Satisfaction Scores

Healthcare is certainly becoming a highly visible business, and the customers - the patients search for how well a practice or physician performs based on ratings and satisfaction scores, as they are demanding high quality service and an experience that will entice them to continue seeking services with a physician or practice. 

When asked how physicians view their reviews and how patient satisfaction scores impact their own organization or practice: 

  • Physicians rarely view their own online ratings (38.22%), but a small percentage (14.88%) focus on their online reputation daily 

  • Patient satisfaction (commonly referred to as “patient experience”) is important, but 42.8% of physicians surveyed in 2019 believe it is minimally impactful for improving patient care

  • 37.37% of physicians trust that they would receive a grade of ‘A’ from patients regarding their communication efforts with patient

7. Telehealth Technology

The future of healthcare includes moving towards advanced technology that allows physicians and patients to connect virtually, and physicians have provided some significant feedback related to their experiences with telehealth technology:

ADVERTISEMENT

  • 52.93% of physicians are willing to use telehealth technology in their practice (2019 survey)

  • However, 59.36% of surveyed physicians in 2019 did not use telehealth technology to communicate with patients

  • The 2020 survey indicates that 2,654 physicians (24.81% of survey participants) believe that telehealth and other virtual solutions were “very effective” during the pandemic

Technology is catching up with the traditional format of delivering healthcare; BroadcastMed will continue surveying physicians to analyze the impact of telehealth, and how physicians integrate it into their workflow. 

8. Physician Satisfaction

Physicians face many challenges in their careers - gauging physician satisfaction is important to understanding obstacles and avoiding physician burnout. A staggering 70.04% of surveyed physicians in 2019 indicated they experienced burnout in the last 5 years. An impressive 60.9% of physicians indicated they were pleased with their medical education compared to their work efforts and the tuition they paid. 

More than half of physicians cited preparation for 2022 to be one of their top professional goals for last year, while nearly one-third said that CME was a top goal. However, factors like COVID-19 have taken their toll on healthcare careers in general. More than 60% of physicians said their outlook on a career in healthcare has declined over the past year, while only 11.97% said their outlook has improved. Another 27.79% said their outlook has remained unchanged.

9. Medicare for All

“Medicare for All'' is an initiative to provide a single-payer healthcare plan for all Americans. It has brought many opinions to the surface regarding its viability and sustaintability. Physicians were surveyed about how this new plan would affect healthcare quality, COVID cases and deaths, accessibility, and its effect on their careers:

  • 46.85% believe it would negatively affect healthcare quality, versus 30.11% seeing a positive effect

  • 59.20% foresee a decrease in the number of COVID cases and deaths with a universal healthcare plan, whereas 38.11% believe it would not change the quality of COVID-19 care

  • 55.08% of surveyed physicians believe “Medicare for All” will positively affect a patient’s access to care

  • 42.45% believe “Medicare for All” will not affect their career

10. Opioid Use

Another pandemic is sweeping across the United States - the opioid crisis. Many healthcare organizations track opioid use and prescribing based on metrics established for lowering the level of abuse by patients and prescribing habits by physicians. BroadcastMed surveyed over 3,500 physicians between September 2018 and March 2021, with the following results:

  • 53.68% of surveyed physicians witnessed an increase in opioid use during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • 50.77% of surveyed physicians believe patients are not as skeptical about taking opioids now than in previous years; a close 49.23% of surveyed physicians believe patients are skeptical about opioid use

  • 33.52% of surveyed physicians have significantly changed their opioid prescribing habits since 2018; conversely, 35.93% have not

BroadcastMed is focused on providing information that provides valuable insights on how physicians are engaged in the operations of their organization or private practice. Your feedback creates the data that drives our healthcare intelligence. 

BroadcastMed offers a physician-focused content hub, a branded channel platform created specifically for healthcare organizations. This channel provides unparalleled site engagement insights and physician level data with our proprietary mDNA™ Reporting. mDNA™ Reporting  allows access to all your HCP Focused Analytics all in one place to effectively measure campaigns and make prompt, informed marketing decisions. 

Are you ready to take your content to the next level? To learn more about our tools or services, contact BroadcastMed today.