Searching for a new provider? Start with personal recommendations.
Within a few days of starting at Weave I found myself in new employee training, learning about health benefits. As HR walked through my insurance options, I searched the insurance websites to see if my existing care providers were covered. I was dismayed to find that none were — not my doctor, dentist, or optometrist.
This has been a common experience every time I’ve changed jobs, but I always find myself resistant to the change. In fact, my dentist, the one I’ve been going to since I was a child, wasn’t covered by my insurance at my last job, but I opted to continue to see him. They had taken good care of me over the years and the out-of-pocket cost was minimal for cleanings.
When I found myself in the same situation with my new insurance this year, I decided I would continue to pay out-of-pocket to see my dentist. After all, I already had a cleaning appointment scheduled. A few weeks after the cleaning, I received a bill in the mail. The out-of-pocket cost had quadrupled with my new insurance. I like my dentist but not that much. So now I find myself in the market for a new dentist.
This started me wondering how others find new providers and if anything could be done to make the process easier. I started my research by creating a short 7-question survey.
Survey Questions
When was the last time you found a new dentist, optometrist, or other provider?
Why did you look for a new provider?
What factors were important to you in your choice?
What did you use in your search for a new provider?
What made you choose your current provider?
How satisfied are you with your new provider?
What will you do differently next time you need to find a new provider?
I had 56 respondents to the survey, which isn’t enough to be statistically significant, but enough to slice the data and see some trends. I found some interesting insights but also quickly realized that I wanted more than just the cut and dry numbers. The data raised more questions that led me to talking to 9 people about their experiences. Looking through the survey and interview data, I came away with three interesting insights.
Insurance is king, but the tools are lacking.
Almost all respondents said that the most important factor in selecting a new provider is insurance coverage. Yet, only 57.2% reported using their insurance website or support to find a new provider. Why the discrepancy?
I talked to several people who said that instead of using their insurance website, they would just find a potential provider and then call their office to find out if they accepted their insurance. Brandon told me about his search for a new optometrist because his insurance changed. He found a list of options that had Saturday appointments and then called his first pick to see if they would accept his insurance.
Keira mentioned that she found the closest facility that was connected to her insurance and then just read the online reviews to decide which provider she wanted to see.
In fact, Michelle reported that her insurance website hasn’t always been right so she feels like asking the provider if they accept her insurance is more reliable.
Dana felt similarly. She has found her insurance websites difficult to use. Instead she asks coworkers for recommendations so she knows her insurance will be accepted.
Insurance providers have an opportunity to create a better, more usable tool for their subscribers, but as of today, people find the experience lacking and would prefer to find the information elsewhere.
Moving is the biggest driver, but personal recommendations still drive the choice (unless it’s from a coworker).
About half of the respondents said they looked for a new provider because of a move. More interestingly, those respondents also said that they were as likely to use friends/family recommendations as much as online reviews. Since the change was coming after a move, I didn’t expect friend recommendations to be so high.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that between 2012 and 2013 almost 12% of Americans over the age of 1 moved. 64% of those that moved stayed within the same county and another 19% moved to a different county within the same state. If that data has held true over the last several years, it provides some clarity on why friends and family are so highly cited. People may be moving far enough away that they want to find more convenient providers, but not so far away that they don’t know people in the area.
Another reason why friend recommendations are high for those that have moved could be that people wait until they’re more established in the neighborhood before finding a new dentist or optometrist. Social media also provides a larger pool of potential recommendations. I often see friends asking for recommendations and some of the respondents mention another friend that might have relevant experience or a recommendation to share.
Another surprising thing I found in the data is that respondents looking for a new provider because of a move were twice as likely to do a general Google search than get a recommendation from a coworker.
Personal recommendations are most trustworthy.
Of those that indicated they used friends and/or online reviews to find a new provider, 85% of them said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their choice. Not only are they satisfied, but they are loyal customers. Over half indicated they have been with the new provider for 3+ years.
The data made it hard to get a clear read on if personal recommendations or online reviews were more heavily used and preferred. I turned to my other conversations to get more context.
Liz mentioned that she doesn’t trust online reviews because she feels they are biased; they tend to be left by friends or those that had a bad experience. Instead she asked her neighborhood Facebook page for recommendations.
Jamie said that knowing the person giving the recommendation is more valuable than reading online reviews. She felt that the personal recommendation is more reliable and is easier to trust. And if you can trust the recommendation then the amount of work required to research a provider decreases significantly.
But not everyone felt that way. Tashina said she prefers to use online reviews than to ask friends. She recently moved and is looking for a new dentist. She said she is likely to use her insurance website and then read online reviews to make her choice.
Overall, it seemed to come down to trust. Personal recommendations hold more weight and tend to be trusted more than online reviews. But that doesn’t mean it always works out.
In the survey, one respondent mentioned making sure they trust the person giving the review, but that they would still look for personal recommendations in the future. I heard this again in my interviews. Brook had a bad experience with a friend’s recommendation, but she said she is still a sucker for referrals because it usually turns out. Though she said that next time she would be looking up online reviews for the referrals before she made a final choice.
Takeaway
This is a process that takes time and effort — from asking friends, to checking that the provider is covered by insurance, to reading online reviews, to finally trying to schedule an appointment. We all try to find ways to make it simpler and faster.
Insurance companies have some tools to try to streamline the process, but they fall short. But in the end, maybe it doesn’t matter because insurance companies can’t provide the personal recommendation that we are almost always looking for.
Providers should realize how important their patient experience is to growing their business. Whether it’s personal recommendations or good online reviews, these are the best lead generation tools and create new loyal patients.
For my own search, I asked some friends for recommendations and then went to my insurance website to see if any of them were covered. When they weren’t, I decided to focus on a few dentists that were close to my house and then read online reviews for each. I’ve scheduled an appointment and now I just have to wait to see if I’ll be satisfied with my choice or if I need to start the process again.
