This month, our First Look features recent publications that expose attitudes and activities of the healthcare consumer, including Rx compliance awareness, health-expense-tracking activities, and privacy concerns. Our consumer data, coupled with Forrester analysis, provides a clearer picture of how pharma and plans can better serve healthcare consumers.

Rx Adherence Hits The Ignorance Wall

Noncompliance -- patients' failure to take their medications as prescribed -- creates billions of dollars in preventable costs. Payer and pharma programs focus on increasing compliance, but Forrester's survey data shows that only about 8% of US consumers are aware that their own noncompliance is an issue. To boost compliance, pharma and payers must build awareness. Start by leveraging direct-to-consumer expertise with a new spin: less "how do we get them to take more pills" and more "how do we get them to realize they're not taking enough?" Coupling this with new technologies will help Rx takers hurdle the adherence/ignorance wall.

How Do Consumers Track Healthcare Expenses?

Forrester's data shows that 19% of consumers track or budget their healthcare expenses. But these technologically savvy consumers are tracking and budgeting the old fashioned way -- 66% of expense trackers say they still use paper and pencil. Plans should support these customers through personal healthcare finance, the application of financial planning and management to consumers' current and expected healthcare expenditures. A few vendors have point solutions, but it will be up to plans or new entrants to create a comprehensive solution for consumers.

Exposing Privacy And Security Concerns Of Government Health Web Site Visitors

Forrester's research shows that consumer attitudes concerning privacy and security when visiting government health Web sites are positive but skeptical. A little more than half of government health site visitors say they read sites' privacy policies, compared with 43% of all North American consumers. Contributing to privacy concerns, 48% report that they can tell the difference between real email and a phishing scam. This group tends to distrust cookies as well: 54% regularly delete cookies from advertisers or marketers. Health sites can build trust by exposing privacy statements, simplifying language, and using two-factor authentication to protect users against phishing.

Hot Off The Presses

Topic Overview: Case Studies by John Ragsdale

Pharma CIOs Are Missing At The Executive Table by Laura Ramos


We are very interested in your feedback on our research. Do you have topics to recommend, data you would like to have, or technologies you want assessed? Drop me a line at bradholmes@forrester.com so we can connect.

Brad Holmes
VP and Practice Leader
Healthcare and Life Sciences

Research Referenced In This Issue Exposing Privacy And Security Concerns Of Government Health Web Site Visitors (38783) How Do Consumers Track Healthcare Expenses? (38713) Pharma CIOs Are Missing At The Executive Table (39055) Rx Adherence Hits The Ignorance Wall (39173) The Race For Personal Healthcare Finance (37412) Topic Overview: Case Studies (39216)

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