The State of Patient Access

More providers and patients feel the healthcare access experience remains “the same” than ever before—at least since the inaugural State of Patient Access survey and report launched by Experian Health in 2020. What appears to be mediocrity might tell a different story because the percentage of “worse” responses was lower than previous years. Together, the context suggests that healthcare has made sustainable progress in access improvements and those improvements are the new normal.

The patient financial journey is under pressure, though. Estimates, insurance discovery, payment methods and payment plan options are missing or getting low marks. This may pose immediate challenges as patients, unsure of the economy, could be less reliable when it comes to collections.

Sample findings:

• Patients really don't like paperwork
• Seeing a doctor quickly is still the No. 1 patient pain point (but it's improving)
• Patient information errors disrupt provider processes
• More estimates (good!); Less accuracy (bad!)

This report, based on a survey of 213 healthcare employees and 1,004 patients/guardians, examined the perspectives from each group on access to healthcare.