{"id":18026,"date":"2024-01-31T10:08:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T10:08:06","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:08:06","slug":"meet-the-primary-care-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-primary-care-patient\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Primary Care Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each month, millions of patients visit Zocdoc to find and instantly book appointments with healthcare providers across every state and specialty. That means every day, with their clicks, patients are telling us what they want from their primary care providers.<\/span><\/p>\n

To make a mark in today\u2019s competitive primary care landscape, it’s essential to understand the demographics, preferences and reasons behind potential patients’ visits. We analyzed the data from hundreds of thousands of bookings in 2023 to give you an inside look at what primary care patients want when looking for new providers. Leveraging these insights can help you acquire more new patients and stand out from the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is looking for new primary care doctors?<\/h2>\n

3 out of 5 primary care bookers were women. <\/span><\/p>\n

More than half of all bookers (54%) were millennials and Gen Z made up nearly a quarter of bookings (24%). Gen X accounted for 15% of bookings, while Baby Boomers and up accounted for 6% of bookings. Those under 18 accounted for 2% of bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

What characteristics matter most when choosing a primary care doctor?<\/h2>\n

Speed to care is an important factor when choosing a primary care provider. A quarter of bookings were for appointments within 1 day and roughly half of all bookings were for appointments within 4 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Primary care patients look for providers who take their insurance. 3 out of 4 appointments were booked using a commercial insurance plan and 9 out of 10 appointments were in-network.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do they want to see the primary care doctor?<\/h2>\n

Regardless of whether a visit is in-person or virtual, patients want to see primary care providers close to home. For in-person visits, 4 out of 5 appointments were booked within 20 miles of a patient\u2019s location. For virtual appointments, nearly half of bookings were for providers within 20 miles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do they want to see the primary care doctor?<\/h2>\n

The top 10 visit reasons included:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Annual physicals<\/li>\n
  2. Illness<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. General consultations<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. New patient visit<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Annual check up\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Annual pap smear\/GYN exam<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Prescription\/refill\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. General followup<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Hyperactive disorder (ADD\/ADHD)<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Anxiety<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When patients chose to book without insurance, the top 3 visit reasons were for pre-surgery check-ups\/clearance, weight loss consultations and medication management, respectively.<\/p>\n

    Weight loss consultations, prescriptions\/refills and medication management were the top 3 most booked out-of-network visit reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When do they want to see the primary care doctor?<\/h2>\n

    Busiest booking day of 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Tuesday, January 3<\/span><\/p>\n

    Patients booked 56% more appointments on January 3 \u2014 the first non-holiday weekday of the New Year \u2014 than the average number of bookings made on Tuesdays in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Busiest booking months<\/strong><\/p>\n

    January was the busiest month for primary care bookings, followed by March.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Most popular appointment dates<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Patients started off 2023 with primary care on their minds. The 3 busiest primary care appointment dates were all Mondays in January. January 30th, 9th and 23rd received 71%, 71% and 65% more bookings vs. the average day.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Most popular appointment weeks<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The \u201cNew Year, New You\u201d mantra held strong in the beginning of 2023, with patients booking 17% more primary care appointments scheduled for the week of January 9 vs. the average week.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Most popular appointment time slots<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Overall, 10 a.m. was the most popular time of day for an appointment, followed closely by 2 p.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Most popular appointment days<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Tuesdays, Mondays and Wednesdays were the most popular days for primary care appointments, followed by Thursdays. Popularity dropped off on Fridays and into the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How do patients book visits with primary care doctors?<\/h2>\n

    Nearly 70% of primary care bookings were made via mobile, while 30% booked via desktop. Using a platform that meets both preferences helps providers easily acquire and retain patients.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Nearly half of patients (48%) prefer to book primary care appointments from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. when the office is typically closed. Unlocking access to 24\/7 booking ensures patients can book when it\u2019s most convenient for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How Primary Care Providers Can Stand Out<\/h2>\n

    Show off your space<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Relative to primary care providers with zero office photos, those with 4 or more office photos got 2.4x as many bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    More reviews, more bookings<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Positive reviews are a great way for potential patients to feel confident about booking with new primary care providers. More reviews directly translates to more bookings. Relative to primary care providers with 1 to 9 reviews, those with 10 to 29 reviews got 2.7x as many bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    List your affiliation status (if applicable)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Relative to primary care providers without hospital affiliation, providers that listed an affiliation received 1.6x as many bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    More languages, more bookings<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Primary care providers who speak 2 languages received 1.4x more bookings compared to providers who only speak 1 language.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Are you charting above average?<\/em><\/p>\n

    Primary care providers on Zocdoc received an average rating of 4.78 out of 5. Only patients who have seen providers can leave a review on Zocdoc\u2019s platform, which creates a trustworthy environment and encourages bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re aiming to expand your reach and attract new patients, the data-driven insights above can help you refine your marketing strategies and align your services with patient expectations. Speed to care, convenient locations and a user-friendly booking experience via mobile and desktop are just a few of the factors that matter most to primary care patients. In today\u2019s competitive primary care landscape, platforms like Zocdoc<\/a> \u2013\u2013 that enable easy booking and help make your online presence pop \u2013\u2013 can easily connect you with new patients actively seeking primary care.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Each month, millions of patients visit Zocdoc to find and instantly book appointments with healthcare providers across every state and specialty. That means every day, with their clicks, patients are telling us what they want from their primary care providers. To make a mark in today\u2019s competitive primary care landscape, it’s essential to understand the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":18031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-18026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-insights","tag-primary-care-doctor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Primary Care Patient - Practice Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to primary care patients.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-primary-care-patient\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Primary Care Patient - 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