Consumers in Singapore Want Self-Directed Healthcare Enabled by Digital Technologies, According to Accenture Report
July 19 2016 - 9:00PM
Business Wire
Majority willing to replace face-to-face doctor
visit with digitally enabled “virtual” visit
Consumers in Singapore are ready to accept self-directed
healthcare driven by digital technologies, with more than half of
them willing to use virtual-care technologies as a replacement for
a face-to-face healthcare visit, according to a new report by
Accenture (NYSE:ACN).
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The report, titled Innovation-Powered Healthcare in Asia
Pacific, is based on a three-country survey of 2,250 citizens – 750
each in Australia, Japan and Singapore. According to the report,
54 per cent of Singaporean consumers said they would forego a
face-to-face visit with a physician in lieu of a virtual visit if
that would enable them to be seen sooner.
The survey also found that more than three-quarters (78 per
cent) of respondents in Singapore said they trust themselves to
take charge of their own health, and nearly the same number
(74 per cent) said they want more options for self-managing
their care. For example, four in five Singaporean respondents (80
per cent) said they would use a virtual assistant – a solution that
draws on advances in artificial intelligence to help a consumer
manage more of their healthcare themselves. A virtual assistant
could, among other things, identify the out-of-pocket costs for a
treatment, help find the right treatment option, or help manage an
appointment or referral.
The findings show signs of a sizable gulf between patient
expectations in Singapore and the health services they received:
only one-fifth (19 per cent) of respondents in Singapore said they
were ‘very satisfied’ with their quality of care, and even fewer
(14 per cent) said they were ‘very satisfied’ with the convenience
of services.
The report also notes that consumers in Singapore are most
willing to adopt digitally enabled changes to the healthcare system
that can improve: the time spent in waiting rooms (cited by 63 per
cent of respondents) and the time it takes to get an appointment
(cited by 44 per cent).
“Demand for self-service technology is helping Singapore become
a breeding ground for health technology start-ups and
government-funded initiatives,” said Julian Sham, M.D., who leads
Accenture’s health practice in Singapore. “Integrating self-service
technology into the existing system will further enable patients to
take charge of their health and interact with the system on their
own terms. By implementing digital technologies more broadly, the
health industry will be able to augment human labour, personalise
care and free-up time for clinicians to focus on where they’re
needed most. That’s the real innovation that digital technologies
can provide.”
Methodology
Accenture commissioned a survey of 2,250 consumers (aged 18+) in
Australia, Japan and Singapore – 750 from each country – to
understand their attitudes toward their health system and
healthcare technologies. The online survey was fielded by Longitude
Research, on behalf of Accenture, between January and February
2016, with the sample evenly distributed across age groups, gender
and income brackets. Each respondent self-reported having been
treated by a health provider at least once over each of the past
three years.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialised skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 375,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160719006722/en/
AccentureHui Luen Lien, + 65 6410
8790hui.luen.lien@accenture.comorJenn Francis, + 1 630 338
6426jennifer.francis@accenture.com
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