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The current U.S. health care system is creating stress for the providers, and may be causing stress for the patients, according to new survey results from PwC.
The giant accounting and consulting firm looked at the impact of physician burnout recently when it conducted an online health care consumer insights survey.
About 69% of the survey participants who had received care in the past 12 months somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement that the providers appeared to be "rushed or pressed for time."
Another 61% agreed that the providers seemed to be "distracted or not fully present," and 59% agreed that the providers seemed to be "burned out or exhausted."
PwC did not have comparable data from an earlier survey, but it found evidence that physician stress is affecting the quality of care: About 55% of the participants who had received care in the past 12 months said they had faced a negative experience when they received care, and 9% said providers had given them an incorrect diagnosis.
PwC wants to help health care organizations modernize. It says the survey results show that one way for health care organizations to move forward is to make more use of virtual care.
Although only 34% of all of the survey participants said they prefer to get care in providers' offices, 72% said they do actually get their care in providers' offices.
The gap between the percentage of patients who want virtual care and the percentage who get virtual care is a "fundamental business model problem," according to PwC.
Health care organization leaders should "unhook growth from real estate," "shift capital from facility expansion to tech-enabled virtual delivery" and "invest in virtual platforms, AI-driven tools and retail partnerships," the firm says. "Redesign business models around 'care anywhere,' not 'care onsite.'"
The survey: PwC conducted the new survey in June and July.
The survey sample included 4,030 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older.
The answers to the questions about provider stress and care quality concerns were answered by the 3,509 participants who had received care in the previous 12 months.
What it means: PwC did not break out separate results for consumers with employer-sponsored health benefits, but its consultants affect how the health care system works for all patients.
One takeaway may be that health care organizations will face a new wave of conversations about whether they should make more use of virtual care systems and, if so, how.
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