Each month, millions of people visit Zocdoc.com or use our free mobile app to search for quality healthcare providers. This means that every minute, patients are telling us with their clicks what they want when it comes to their care. While some might think of patients as a monolith, we know that each search and each booking represents a different need, a different priority, a different desire.
At Zocdoc, we have the privilege of receiving this feedback from patients each day. The following is a snapshot of the key trends and insights in 2023 when it comes to what patients want.
Why are patients seeking care?
A look at the top reasons behind Zocdoc bookings in 2023.
Top 10 visit reasons booked in 2023
Preventive health, mental health and dental health topped the booking charts in 2023. The annual physical was the most-booked visit reason overall in 2023, representing the top visit reason for men and No. 2 for women, behind an annual Pap smear.
- Annual Physical
- Annual Pap Smear/Gyn Exam
- Illness
- Dermatology Consultation
- Dental Cleaning
- Dental Consultation
- Anxiety
- Psychiatry Consultation
- Hyperactive Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
- New Patient Visit (typically PCP)
Top specialists booked in 2023
Female-skewing specialties and visit reasons
Relative to the 2023 average, women made a disproportionate share of bookings for plastic surgeons (83 percent female), dieticians (80 percent female) and nutritionists (78 percent female).
Male-skewing specialties and visit reasons
Men disproportionately went to the audiologist (40 percent more), cardiologist (40 percent more) and orthopedic surgeon (40 percent more) as compared to the average. They also booked urologist appointments 140 percent more than the average.
Mix by age
Relative to the average bookings mix by age, adult Gen Z patients made up a 30 percent higher share of mental health bookings. Mental health bookings were significantly lower for the 59 and older set (between 40 percent and 50 percent lower share as compared to the average).
While anecdotes assert that young adults rely on urgent care the most, our data showed that adults booked urgent care visits consistently across all generations.
Similarly, 2023 bookings did not show that young adults are less likely to have a primary care provider. PCP bookings were consistent across all generations, except with Baby Boomers, who booked 10 percent fewer PCP appointments than the overall average.
Meanwhile, neurology, ENT, cardiology, podiatry, ophthalmology and orthopedic bookings skewed older, with Baby Boomers and older most heavily booking these specialties.
Rebooking/loyalty trends
Patients were broadly loyal to their providers, with roughly 4 in 5 patients rebooking* with the same provider when booking in the same specialty. Male and female patients were equally loyal to their providers, rebooking the same provider when rebooking in the same specialty. Across all generations, provider loyalty was high, though older patients were slightly more loyal than younger patients. Data showed that Gen X patients and older were up to 6 percent more loyal than Gen Z and Millennial patients.
*Rebooking rate represents patients who had a new patient visit in 2023 and made a subsequent appointment with the same provider when rebooking in the same specialty in 2023.
Allergists, chiropractors and ENTs were the specialties with the most loyal* patients.
*Percent of patients who rebooked in 2023 with the same provider when rebooking in the same specialty
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