Patient demand is rising in California, and now is the time for health care providers to strike gold.
GOLD RUSH
In 2023, California has seen 49 percent higher growth in searches year to date* as compared to the rest of the country.
- Dentists: +148 percent
- Dermatologists: +53 percent
- Ob-gyns: +29 percent
- Primary care providers: +26 percent
- Urgent care: +16 percent
- Mental health: +14 percent
*January–August 2022 versus January–August 2023
Any time we see trends like this at Zocdoc, we dig in deeper. Get to know your patient base, both current and potential. We’ve got all the insights into the types of Zocdoc patients booking in California — including how and why they’re so valuable to providers.
YOUNG AND…
Younger patients are driving the most demand in California, with nearly 40% in their 20s.
| Provider type | Patients in their 20s | Patients in their 30s | Patients in their 40s |
| Overall | 39% | 36% | 11% |
| Primary care | 40% | 36% | 11% |
| Dermatology | 38% | 37% | 11% |
| Mental health | 43% | 33% | 11% |
| Urgent care | 40% | 33% | 10% |
Did you know?
Patients who book mental health appointments in California skew younger than all other in-state bookers. Nearly half (45 percent) of bookers seeking mental health care were 29 and under.
INSURED.
Eighty-five percent — an overwhelming majority of California bookings on Zocdoc — are made with commercial insurance. Between August 2022 and August 2023, we saw patients with insurance book 83 percent of primary care appointments, 86 percent of dermatology appointments, 87 percent of mental health appointments and 82 percent of urgent care appointments.
IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY
Providers seeking to grow their practices are in luck: More than 8 in 10 patient bookings overall in California are for new patient-provider relationships. For primary care providers, dermatologists and mental health professionals, 83 percent of patients booked through Zocdoc are new; for urgent care, that number was 91 percent.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The Golden State is huge — and hard to generalize. We at Zocdoc also break down our data by region, which can help providers prioritize in-demand care and local opportunities.
Southern California has seen the strongest growth year over year, particularly the Riverside/San Bernardino area, where searches for health care providers are up 51 percent year to date. In nearby Los Angeles, those searches are up 27 percent, and San Diego saw a 19 percent increase.
Did you know?
Patients in Los Angeles are 8 percent more likely to search for a Botox appointment than other patients in California.
Further north, opportunities continue to spike. In Sacramento, capital residents’ searches grew nearly 40 percent, while San Francisco saw a 31 percent increase. This demand isn’t confined to the big cities either — the rest of the state stepped up its searches for health care providers 31 percent overall.
Did you know?
Patients in San Diego are 31 percent more likely to search for a skin cancer screening appointment than other patients in California.
This is a golden opportunity, but if Californians know anything, it’s that this rush won’t last forever.
Reach out to our enterprise sales representatives today to learn more about how you can capitalize on California’s patient demand. You can also request a custom search and booking analysis that shows unmet demand specific to your region and specialty.