Racing to Wellness: The Consumer’s Point of View

// By Susan Dubuque //

This article is the second in a series on the role of marketing in the face of a changing health care environment.

Part one looked at a new way to define “wellness” and explored what hospitals and health systems around the country are doing to prepare for the transition from fee-for-service reimbursement to population health management. But what do consumers think? How do they view this renewed focus on wellness? And what are the marketing implications as marketers are chal­lenged to present their organizations as champions of wellness while balancing today’s business needs and objectives?

Neathawk Dubuque & Packett, an advertising agency headquartered in Richmond, VA, completed a bench­marking research study in December to investigate consumer selection and attitudes about wellness as re­lated to physician and hospital preference. A total of 1,200 responses were collected from a national sample of consumers, using an online survey designed specifi­cally for this study. While the sample was reflective of the general population, it was skewed slightly older and female since older consumers tend to dominate health care spending and females tend to direct family health care decision making.

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