Best Buy Health’s Latest Insights into Technology and Care at Home
In the U.S., aging in and staying at home is a priority for most people over the age of 45 — and for nearly one-half of younger people between 18 and 44 — we learn in Best Buy Health’s Research Brief discussing the company’s survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers. Best Buy Health, the health-focused operation which is part of the electronics retailer Best Buy, worked with Sage Growth Partners to assess 1,000 U.S. consumers, 18 years and over, on their perspectives on health care, technology, aging in place, and caregiving. The research was fielded
How Voting Plays Into Health, Health Equity, and Community Well-Being
“Voter registration in hospitals is the new frontier in health care.” That’s the headline in a WBUR story last week detailing the efforts of health care professionals in “amplifying” their patients’ voices inside and outside of the hospital walls by advocating for their health citizenship — through voter registration and public health policy advocacy. I’m a long-time evangelist for health citizenship and the role that a person’s engagement in the civic commons plays in one’s own health, the health of their communities and of the nation as a whole. I’m not alone
Americans Who Perceive Negative Medical Treatment Due to Weight, Insurance Status, and Identity Metrics – YouGov Insights
Millions of Americans believe they have been treated negatively by a physician due to their weight, insurance status, physical appearance and/or state of mental health, according to a YouGov poll published August 6, 2024. To gauge U.S. health citizens’ perceptions of fair and unfair treatment in the health care system, YouGov conducted this research among 1,200 U.S. adults 18 and over online in late June 2024. The first bar chart arrays various identity characteristics describing patients: we see that weight is by far the top characteristic putting the person at-risk for being
Women’s Health Outcomes in the U.S.: Spending More, Getting (Way) Less – 4 Charts from The Commonwealth Fund
Women in the U.S. have lower life expectancy, greater risks of heart disease, and more likely to face medical bills and self-rationing due to costs, we learn in the latest look into Health Care for Women: How the U.S. Compares Internationally from The Commonwealth Fund. The Fund identified four key conclusions in this global study: Mortality, shown in the first chart which illustrates women in the U.S. having the lowest life expectancy of 80 years versus women in other high-income countries; Health status, with women in the U.S. more likely to consume multiple prescription
The Health Care Costs for Someone Retiring in 2024 in the U.S. Will Reach $165,000 – Fidelity’s 23rd Annual Update
The average person in the U.S. retiring in 2024 will need to bank $165,000 to pay for health care costs in retirement — a sum that does not include long-term care, Fidelity Investments advises us in the 23rd annual look at this always-impactful (and sobering) forecast. I’ve covered this study every year since 2011 here in Health Populi, continuing to add to this bar chart; in the interest of space and legibility, I started this year’s version of the chart at 2014, when the cost for a couple was gauged at $220K. Fidelity began
What the “Vibe-Cession” Means for Health Care in the U.S. – Spending is Personal
People living in the U.S. continue to feel a “vibe-cession” malaise, based on the American Mindset July 2024 update from Dentsu’s Consumer Navigator research. Notwithstanding generally good news about the American macroeconomy — in terms of growth, downward ticking inflation, and expected interest rate relief come September from the Federal Reserve — one in two Americans still thinks the country is in a recession. And this context is important for consumer’s personal spending on health care, fitness, and wellness, because, as Dentsu puts it, “consumers think in terms of personal finances.” As
Consumers Demand Foods That Are Healthy AND Delicious – and Some Health Equity Implications
The most common food-eating styles practiced by U.S. consumers are low sugar/diabetic diets, low-calorie, dairy-free, anti-inflammatory, and gluten-free, ccording to the Midyear Trends update from Datassential. In their update on the food trends entering the second half of 2024, Datassential offered several insights on consumers and food-as-medicine in a section called the Health Check-Up. These trends are shaping consumers’ food demands in both their grocery shopping preferences (for food consumed in the home) as well as their eating-out ordering strategies — where 35% of consumers want to see menu offerings with foods that are
The Cost of GLP-1 Drugs on Payers’ Minds as Nearly 1/3rd of U.S. Consumers Could Become Users
With 70 different clinical trials for GLP-1 drugs in process with the FDA, payers — and other stakeholders in the health care ecosystem — have the semaglutide-SENSE top of mind, based on my ongoing updating of this fast-moving market space. For overall market context on pace-of-growth in adoption, check out this chart from a JAMA Health Forum research letter on Prescription Fills for Semaglutide Products by Payment Method, published August 2nd. The study was based on the IQVIA National Prescription Audit PayerTrak data which captures 92% of Rx’s filled at retail pharmacies in
Retail Health Update for Pharmacy – Mail Order Beats Brick & Mortar, J.D. Power Finds
People have been undergoing their own human kind of digital transformations, turbocharged during the pandemic for many who never used Zoom or Amazon Prime or Uber. That consumer-borne digital transformation has shaped people as health consumers, many having used telehealth and appointment-scheduling online. And peoples’ relationships with pharmacies are also changing, with more health consumers finding greater satisfaction with their mail order pharmacy experiences than with moat retail brick and mortar chain drug stores, the latest J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Pharmacy Study found. It’s clear that mail order is
Older Americans Mostly Receptive to Apps for Health, but Chronically Ill People Could Use a Nudge (and a Payer)
AARP found that 7 in 10 people ages 50+ are “app-receptive” for health and wellness apps in Unlocking Health and Wellness Apps: Experiences of Adults Age 50-Plus, a summary of research conducted with U.S. consumers 50 and over from AARP. The methodology for this study included only older consumers who were comfortable in downloading apps to smartphones or tablets, and were willing to do so — whom AARP considered the target audience for this research. In addition, the respondents surveyed were also at least interested in trying apps designed for health and wellness, thus dubbed “health
Globally Patients Seek Clear Communications to Build Trust with Healthcare, Especially in the AI Era
Globally, patients are growing consumer muscles leaning into trust that’s building on communications that connect with them, based on insightful research from Smart Communications. This consumer research was fielded by Toluna and Harris Interactive in February and March 2024. In The State of Customer Conversations, the report assesses input from global consumers from the APAC region (Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore), German-speaking markets (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), the United Kingdom, and the U.S. The research revealed five key findings, shown in the first exhibit: Communications are increasingly important
What’s Expected to Drive Up Health Plan Costs in 2025: GLP-1s, Behavioral Health, and Inflationary Pressures for Hospitals and Doctors – PwC’s Behind the Numbers 2025
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had good news for American consumers long-facing inflation for household spending over the past couple of years, announcing on July 11, 2024, that the general consumer price index (CPI) fell, lowering real prices for people buying airline tickets, used cars and trucks, communication, and petrol to fill auto tanks. That positive economic news did not extend to medical care and personal care, the BLS reported, whose costs increased by 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively. (Motor vehicle insurance costs grew a whopping 19.5% in the report, FYI). Following the
Will the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy or Oura Rings Become “Intelligent Guardians” For Health?
One of the few bright spots in consumer technology spending in the past couple of years of the U.S. economic “vibecession” has been the category of smartwatches. The Wall Street Journal recently talked, specifically, about the growing role of the Apple Watch for health care, gaining traction as a part of cardiologists’ and other physicians’ testing for and adoption of the wearable tech device for patients who are managing medical conditions. Data from CTA, the Consumer Technology Association, has been tracking such spending which I’ve often discussed here in Health Populi
Trust in Institutions Among Americans: Small Biz, the Military and Police More than the Medical System
Two-thirds of Americans have a lot of confidence in small business in the U.S. In second place, 61% of people in the U.S. have confidence in the military, followed by 51% with the police. The Gallup Poll on Americans’ confidence in 17 U.S. institutions is out today, reflecting a snapshot of U.S. adults’ views on the organizations that touch their daily lives. And health care doesn’t fare too well in this latest read. Only 36% of Americans have confidence in the U.S. medical system, tied with peoples’ feelings of lack of confidence
Financial Strain Among Older People in America, and What Project 2025 Could Mean for Their Well-Being
Over one-half of people 50 years of age and older in the U.S. have felt financial strain in the past year, resulting in 1 in 2 folks cutting back on everyday expenses like groceries and gas. We learn that nearly one-half of people 50 and over say they’ve been impacted by inflation “a great deal” in Making Ends Meet: Financial Strain and Well-Being Among Older Adults, the latest report from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation’s National Poll on Healthy Aging based at the University of Michigan (my alma mater). The poll was conducted by NORC at the University
On This July 4th 2024, Let’s Remember the Doctors Who Have Helped Patients Declare Their Independence – Wisdom from Michael Millenson
“’A reform,’ wrote a 19th-century British parliamentarian, ‘is a correction of abuses. A revolution is a transfer of power. As we celebrate the American Revolution, catalyzed by men who broke ranks with their peers to overthrow a power structure that seemed immutable, let’s also celebrate those physicians who broke with their peers and declared independence for American patients.” So begins an informative, timely essay on participatory medicine and patient engagement researched and beautifully written by Michael Millenson, whom I am blessed to call both dear friend and professional colleague. Michael’s essay on the
Can AI Help to Improve Health Equity? U.S. Scientists Weigh In With “Yes,” Baking in Ethics and Accountability
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) was founded in 1945 by a group of scientists concerned about the atomic bomb — sharing a mission to focus on technology, science, and innovation to, in the Association’s words, “work toward a safer, more equitable, and more peaceful world.” Nearly 80 years after the organization’s launch, the FAS is focusing on the growing role of artificial and augmented intelligence across the many areas that touch peoples’ lives — including health care and well-being. The FAS published a state-of-the-nation essay on June 27 on Improving Health Equity Through AI.
“Listen to Me:” Personalization in Health Care Starts With Taking Patients’ Voices Seriously – the 15th Beryl Institute-Ipsos PX Pulse Survey
Patients’ experience with health care in the U.S. dropped to its lowest point over the past year, explained in the 15th release of The Beryl Institute – Ipsos PX Pulse survey. The study into U.S. adult consumers’ perspectives defined “patient experience” (PX) as, “The sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.” The survey was fielded by Ipsos among 1,018 U.S. adults in March 2024. Health care providers (and other industry stakeholders that go B2B or B2B2C (or P) are all thinking
Health Information Security – My Interview with Richard Kaufmann, CISO of Amedisys, Part 3: The Futures of Cybersecurity in Healthcare
At least one-half of U.S. health care organizations have experienced a data breach, one-third in the last 3 years, according to Software Advice’s 2024 Healthcare Data Security Survey released in May 2024. Of the health care organizations who experienced ransomware attacks, one-third did not recover patient data from the cyber-attackers, Software Advice learned. Clearly, cyberattacks are impacting patient care. And the growth of home care, hospital-to-home, and greater self-care are also increasing risks for cybersecurity. The growing adoption of digital technologies in healthcare, from the hospital to the doctor’s office to the home,
Medical Debt, Aflac on Eroding Health Benefits, the CBO’s Uninsured Forecast & Who Pays for Rising Health Care Prices: A Health Consumer Financial Update
On June 11, Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the agency’s vision to ban Americans’ medical debt from credit reports. He called out that, “In recent years, however, medical bills became the most common collection item on credit reports. Research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2022 showed that medical collections tradelines appeared on 43 million credit reports, and that 58 percent of bills that were in collections and on people’s credit records were medical bills.” Chopra further explained that medical debt on a consumer credit report was quite different than other kinds
I'm gratified to be named on this updated list of 16 women's voices who are shaping health care. The curator of the list, Dorlee Michaeli, asked the question: "If someone wanted a smarter healthcare LinkedIn feed tomorrow, who should they follow today?" Glad to be one of these voices.
I’m celebrating America’s 250th birthday both patriotically and professionally, honored that the NLM included my 2010 paper, “How Smartphones Are Changing Healthcare for Consumers and Patients” as one of 250 items curated for the digital archive of 250 Years of American Medicine.
I'm grateful to be part of the Duke Corporate Education faculty, sharing perspectives on the future of health care with health and life science companies. Once again, I'll be brainstorming the future of health care with a cohort of executives working in a global health care enterprise.