Patients Likely To Change Providers After A Breach
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Almost two-thirds of respondents surveyed said they would avoid providers that had experienced a breach.
A TransUnion Healthcare surveyrevealed more than half of recent hospital patients would willingly change healthcare providers if their current one experienced a data breach. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents reported they would avoid providers that had undergone a breach.
And while responses varied by age, the general consensus was a lack of trust following a breach: 73 percent of patients between 18 and 34 said they were likely to change healthcare providers, while patients over age 55 were somewhat less likely to move (64 percent), according to ACA International.
“Older consumers may have long-standing loyalties to their current doctors, making them less likely to seek a new healthcare provider following a data breach,” said Gerry McCarthy, president of TransUnion Healthcare. “However, younger patients are far more likely to at least consider moving to a new provider if there is a data breach.”
The survey was based on responses from 1,228 US healthcare consumers who had utilized care within the past two years from a doctor's office, clinic or hospital. Given multiple high profile payer data breaches in 2015 that have impacted millions, it wouldn't be surprising if healthcare consumers have even stronger sentiments on the subject this year.
“With more than 80 million millennials recently entering the healthcare market, providers that are not armed with the proper tools to protect and recover from data breaches run the risk of losing potentially long-term customers,” said McCarthy.
The survey also found nearly half of consumers (46 percent) expect a response or notification within one day of the breach, while 31 percent of consumers expect to receive a response or notification within one to three days. And in the wake of a breach, 72 percent of consumers expect providers to offer at least one year of free credit monitoring after a breach, while 59 percent expect a dedicated phone hotline for questions. Fifty-five percent expect a dedicated website with additional breach information.
As HealthCare Dive reported, these expectations are not always met. As of the end of March, Anthem had yet to notify 50 million customers of a cyberattack that affected 70 million. And since healthcare data breaches are expected to surge in 2015, healthcare providers need to be paying closer attention not only to their security efforts, but also to the attitudes and expectations of their patients.
“The hours and days immediately following a data breach are crucial for consumers' perceptions of a healthcare provider,” says McCarthy. “With the right tools, hospitals and providers can quickly notify consumers of a breach, and change consumer sentiments toward their brand.”