No To Hospitals: Survey Finds Patients Are Seeking Other Health Care Facilities During Pandemic
The report found patients are trying to avoid hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some going so far as to say they wouldn't go to the ER for a medical emergency.
Patients are wary of seeking health care at hospitals and prefer to travel to off-campus facilities for treatment in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report released this week.
Health care real estate REIT Physicians Realty Trust commissioned healthcare consultants CVR and Carmichael & Company to conduct the survey in five of their biggest markets—Atlanta, Dallas, Louisville, Minneapolis, and Phoenix—to see how patients are choosing to obtain healthcare during the pandemic.
The survey found that when given a choice, 76.5% of respondents preferred to go to a location not connected to a hospital, like an off-campus medical office. Only 23.5% said they would not mind going to a location attached to a hospital.
These findings were published as the COVID-19 pandemic is sending Americans to hospitals, which could prevent other patients from going there to avoid the virus or taking up resources.
A majority of respondents—53.8%—said if they had to undergo surgery, they’d prefer it to be at a hospital if their doctor recommended them to do so. But 46.2% said they would request the procedure take place at a surgery center away from a hospital.
And 22.6% of respondents said they would not go to the emergency room and handle a medical emergency themselves, a figure the report called “startling.” “Anxiety surrounding hospitals has caused nearly one-fourth of respondents to be more willing to risk their lives than go to the hospital,” the report reads.
The study surveyed 2,018 respondents, with an average margin of error of 2.19% across the markets.
John T. Thomas, president and CEO of Physicians Realty Trust, said that the REIT “commissioned this research to advance our understanding of COVID-19′s impact on our business, as well as provide insight and guidance to our healthcare partners.”
“The findings affirm our long-term observations in consumer attitudes and validate the company’s continued investment strategy targeting off-campus medical office buildings,” he added.
The report also lays out steps healthcare facilities can take to reassure patients in the future, like showing that staff are following precautions like social distancing, using hand sanitizer and wearing masks.
“Consumer expectations of cleanliness, hygiene and safety could very well change as a result of the best practices that are being encouraged by the CDC now,” the report reads. “Healthcare facilities should prepare to implement these practices for the long haul in order to alleviate consumer anxiety and remove barriers to consumers’ healthy lifestyles.”