Health tech can improve healthcare outcomes in the US
Yet another study highlights how Covid-19 has adjusted people’s attitude to health technology, and that there is an increased demand for improved health insurance cover
Healthinsurance.com conducted a survey across 1,000 US adults, which reveals that people have been increasingly embracing health technology due to Covid-19.
Not only are people more aware of their health (83 per cent) and keen to maintain it due to the coronavirus pandemic, but two-thirds (66 per cent) say that they will get the Covid-19 vaccine once available to them.
Of particular interest is the findings that 81 per cent of those who have used telemedicine during the pandemic say that they will continue to do so even once it is over – marking a 35-per-cent increase from six months ago.
Recent studies tell us that people that subscribe to health tech services are often more engaged in their healthcare – not least of all because health technology improves access to remote, virtual care at a time when it is needed most. And when people are more engaged in their healthcare, healthcare outcomes improve. So, healthinsurance.com’s new study should be reassuring news to healthcare providers (including assistance providers) that are in the process of integrating health technology such as telemedicine and virtual care services into their offerings.
Consumers shopping for increased coverage
Elsewhere, the study also highlights that US respondents are keen to increase their health insurance coverage in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – 26 per cent of people made changes to their health insurance for 2021, and the biggest reported change was increased coverage.
While it might not be clear whether these individuals were adjusting their domestic health insurance policies or their international private medical insurance policies, other reports highlight that people have been keen to enhance their IPMI cover in response to the pandemic.