OK, PHYSICIANS! It\u2019s time to align\nyour practice with what Millennials say they want from healthcare. These 24 to 39 year olds (as of\n2020) aren\u2019t kids anymore \u2013 that would be Gen Z \u2013 and they wield serious purchasing\nstrength. Because of their muscle, analysts continue to analyze everything these\n83 million\nAmericans do \u2013\nfrom what they drink (survey says: make theirs a hard seltzer, preferably White\nClaw), to what they eat (survey says: pass the CBD-infused food), to their healthcare preferences\n(survey says: the nod goes to on-demand medical clinics).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a PCP, family practitioner, nurse\npractitioner, general practitioner, physician assistant, or internist working in a traditional\noffice-based medical\npractice, you already know that last nugget. Millennials aren\u2019t drawn to you\nprofessionally. If you need the latest stats, a 2018 report revealed that\n45 percent of our nation\u2019s largest generation has no PCP and a 2017 report put\nthat figure at 35 percent \u2013 which means Millennials are increasing their\ndistance from primary healthcare providers.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n More than any other generation,\nthey\u2019re addressing pressing medical needs in urgent care and walk-in clinics,\nwhere evaluating an ache or pain comes with online connectivity, unbeatable\nconvenience, price transparency, and exceptional speed \u2013 benefits not typically\nlinked to the time-honored doc\u2019s office.2, 3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now let\u2019s toss in another Millennial-driven\ntrend: a penchant for wellness programs. Millennials are often credited with\ndriving the wellness trend, a market now valued at $4.2 trillion\nglobally.4<\/sup> In addition, a recent survey declared this generation most likely\nto participate in various aspects of wellness and preventative care, such as\nprograms focused on smoking cessation, stress management, and activity-based\nwellness challenges.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, if you\u2019re looking to maintain \u2013\nor build \u2013 a practice model based on tradition but customized for 2020, then consider\ntweaking your MO. Begin by adding the best of no-appointment-necessary,\non-demand clinics. Next, introduce ways Millennials can participate in their\nown personal health and\nwellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If reinventing your practice sounds too time-consuming,\nthere are digital healthcare companies out there that will do the heavy lifting\nfor you. One in particular is higi,5<\/sup> which we won\u2019t endorse over\nother digital solutions, but we can certainly share info.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicago-based higi manufactures an\nFDA-cleared, wheelchair accessible, smart health station, currently located in\nabout 11,000 pharmacies, club stores, community locations, grocery stores, and\nemployer worksites nationwide. The kiosk prompts users to take and record their\nvital signs, including blood pressure, height, and weight, and also answer\n\u201clifestyle\u201d questions. The higi platform then converts data into a single\n\u201cHigiScore,\u201d which represents the user\u2019s overall wellness \u2013 or un-wellness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can choose to anonymously\ntake their vital signs and walk away; create an account and store data in the\ncloud to review online, on a smartphone, or from a wearable device; or\ncreate an account and forward data directly to a chosen physician or healthcare\nsystem. So you may only see a patient once a year but in between appointments you\nreceive unique patient data. Imagine texting a patient something like Great job hitting a healthy weight<\/em> or Blood pressure is high. I recommend coming\nin to discuss solutions<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is healthcare on demand that promotes\ninteracting with a physician \u2013 but only as needed,\u201d says Jeff\nBennett, higi CEO. \u201cSo the program accommodates different people at different\npoints in their health journey. For example, higi gives younger Millennials touchpoints\nbetween doctor visits, which may be fine since this demographic isn\u2019t typically\ndealing with acute health issues and might not need \u2013 or want \u2013 a consistent\nrelationship with a doctor. Conversely, if someone does have a potential\nor existing health issue, they can track their health data at a higi kiosk,\ntransmit data to their doctor, and skip making an appointment unless intervention\nis necessary.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent addition to the higi\nassessment platform is brain health, which embraces behavioral health. \u201cOne in\ntwo women tell us that they\u2019re less happy than happy. That\u2019s something a\npatient might not tell their physician \u2013 maybe because they\u2019re embarrassed to share\nsomething like that or there just isn\u2019t enough time during a usual doctor visit,\u201d\nBennett explains. \u201cIf a physician receives real-time data that indicates a\npatient may be depressed, that doctor can reach out with an appropriate\nresponse and the right resources to mitigate a potentially dangerous situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the way, higi users can also\nupload their data into any of several programs to receive immediate educational\ncontent pertinent to a specific health issue and also join communities for support in health management, such as weight loss\nor exercise routines. It ties nicely with the Millennials\u2019 interest in\ndeveloping and maintaining healthy habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is by no means the only way patients can track and share real-time health data with a physician. There are other kiosk-type concepts out there as well as increasingly popular wearables, with a quarter of U.S. adults, or 56.7 million, saying they used a wearable device at least once a month in 2019.6<\/sup> Over time, these devices may surpass grocery store smart stations in convenience and reliability \u2013 but not yet.7<\/sup> For now, it seems that the best place for your patients to capture dependable, sharable health data on-demand is eight aisles over from the fresh produce section and around the corner from shampoo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Boodman, S. G. (2018, October 9). Spurred By Convenience, Millennials Often Spurn The ‘Family Doctor’ Model. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Fronstin, P., & Dretzka, E. (2018, March 18). Consumer Engagement in Health Care Among Millennials, Baby Boomers, and Generation X: Findings from the 2017 Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) Bhuyan, N. (2018, October 22). Millennials Don’t Have PCPs; Here’s Why They Should. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) https:\/\/globalwellnessinstitute.org\/global-wellness-institute-blog\/2018\/07\/18\/millennials-reshaping-consumption-the-winners-small-wellness-companies-not-big-brands\/ <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n