Hospitals and health systems too slow In responding to consumer demands

While 28 percent of organizations said providing price transparency was a high priority, only 4 percent had high capabilities of providing transparency. (Photo: Shutterstock)

A new report suggests that health care systems and hospitals are not doing enough to promote consumerism, at a time when disruptive new entrants to the market have the tools and experience to speak directly to consumers.

The report by Kaufmann Hall surveyed hospitals and health systems nation-wide. According to the report, 88 percent of U.S. hospital and health system executives said that their organizations are vulnerable to consumer-friendly offerings from new competitors such as Optum, CVS Health, and Amazon. Yet only a small percentage of these organizations were rated highly in meeting consumer demands, and a significant number were falling behind in this rating.