Healthcare patients are evolving into consumers. This report examines the trends driving healthcare’s consumerization shift and discusses how incumbents can keep folks from going elsewhere by countering disruptors’ technology-centric strategies.

On today's episode, we discuss what healthcare will look like in the metaverse. For "In Other News," we talk about speaking to your doctor via an Amazon Echo device and the telehealth trends to watch for in 2022. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Lisa Phillips.

On today's episode, we discuss just how much primary care is blending with the world of retail and how in-patient care is moving outside the hospital. We then talk about a new category of consumer biowearables and whether the new do-it-yourself healthcare trend is here to stay. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Lisa Phillips.

Telemedicine is not the way most US adults prefer to access care. For only two healthcare needs—flu or cold treatment, and prescription refills—live video visits held an edge over in-office visits in 2021, and this margin was slim. US adults were more inclined to travel to their providers for mental health services, annual checkups, and physical therapy.

Report: Insider Intelligence’s Digital Health Trends to Watch in 2022. Article: Healthcare execs want to implement diagnostic AI—but providers still largely distrust it. Article: Newest healthcare unicorn on the block is upending clinical admin with AI.

In September, it launched GoodRx Health, an online health hub where consumers access information about health concerns and trends, tools for guiding healthcare decisions, and video content on areas like financial guidance and drug-related FAQs.

Overwhelming majorities of US healthcare professionals believed analytics and big data, telemedicine, digital preventative care and wearables/consumer sensors would experience growth over the next year, according to the “2019 Healthcare Prognosis” study from venture capital firm Venrock.

US telehealth users have accessed virtual dermatology care more than other types of specialty care, per our 2022 US Telehealth Trends survey. Amwell has been expanding into more healthcare areas, including pediatric mental health and even smart hospitals. Adding MSK care and dermatology will boost the value of its telehealth platform for insurer and provider customers.

This trend has elevated the need for healthcare organizations to simplify the medical billing and payment experience for consumers to ensure they get paid on time. A concerning disconnect exists between how incumbent care delivery organizations perceive their billing and payment process compared with how patients feel about it.

Below, we detail just a few examples of how healthcare is integrating virtual, augmented, and mixed reality today. Still confused about what the metaverse is? Click here to read our primer on the metaverse. Virtual reality in healthcare.