Closing healthcare’s digital commerce adoption gap

Healthcare has a digital commerce problem—and a human one. Compared with other industries, healthcare earns the lowest satisfaction scores for digital commerce experiences, and it also has one of the highest rates of non-use. That combination matters. It suggests not only that many experiences are underperforming, but that a meaningful share of patients are still being left out altogether.

This gap is especially visible among older adults. Baby boomers report the lowest satisfaction with healthcare digital commerce, and more than a third say they do not use it for their healthcare needs at all. That should concern every healthcare organization. These are often the very people who stand to benefit most from easier access, clearer guidance and more convenient ways to manage appointments, payments and follow-up care.

Healthcare leaders should treat this as more than a website problem. In healthcare, digital commerce is not about turning care into shopping. It is about making critical interactions easier to complete online: booking an appointment, understanding a service, reviewing costs, paying a bill, accessing records, updating information or managing next steps. Done well, this digital layer improves access, continuity and convenience across the patient journey. Done poorly, it adds friction at moments when people are already stressed, confused or time-constrained.

Why healthcare lags

The underlying issues are familiar. Consumers say their biggest frustrations with digital commerce often come down to weak user experience, unclear information and incomplete end-to-end service. In healthcare, the top complaint is that the user experience needs improvement. Patients also want better personalization and tools that help them complete more of the journey without being forced into a phone call, paper form or office visit.

Those frustrations are amplified by the nature of healthcare itself. Unlike many other sectors, healthcare interactions are often high-stakes, emotionally loaded and administratively complex. Patients may be trying to compare services, schedule across specialties, understand coverage, pay bills, manage prescriptions or follow a care plan—all while dealing with illness, caregiving responsibilities or anxiety. When the digital experience is confusing, slow or fragmented, the impact is greater than inconvenience. It can delay action, reduce trust and disrupt continuity of care.

At the same time, patient expectations have changed. People increasingly expect the same clarity, speed and self-service they experience elsewhere. They want intuitive navigation, simpler flows, timely support and more relevant experiences. In healthcare, many also want digital tools tailored to patient data, demographics, personal health goals and preferences. They want help managing their health, not just portals that store information.

What better healthcare commerce looks like

Improving healthcare digital commerce starts by redefining the goal. The aim is not to add more features for their own sake. It is to remove friction from the moments that matter most.

Patients should be able to complete common tasks on their own with minimal effort. That includes scheduling and rescheduling appointments, finding the right provider or service, checking status, paying bills, updating personal details and accessing records. Self-service works when it is truly usable: clear pathways, plain language, responsive design and logical next steps.

Across industries, consumers consistently ask for clearer content. In healthcare, that need is especially urgent. Patients should not have to decode dense language to understand what a service is, what preparation is required, what it may cost or what will happen next. Older users in particular place a premium on clarity. Better healthcare commerce means presenting services, coverage details, billing information and payment options in ways that reduce uncertainty rather than add to it.

Healthcare organizations should look closely at the moments where patients abandon the process or switch channels. Long forms, disconnected systems, repeated authentication, broken mobile experiences and confusing payment steps all create friction. A better model is seamless and end-to-end: search, select, schedule, confirm, pay and receive follow-up through one connected experience.

Online portals have become standard, but too many still behave like repositories rather than relationship tools. The next generation of healthcare portals should help patients do something meaningful: prepare for a visit, ask a question, receive reminders, manage benefits, review bills, refill prescriptions or coordinate care. The value of a portal is not that it exists. The value is whether it helps patients move forward.

Patients increasingly want experiences customized to their needs, but healthcare organizations should be careful not to confuse personalization with novelty. In this context, personalization should make care easier to navigate. It can mean surfacing the right services, tailoring reminders, reflecting demographic and accessibility needs, adapting content to health goals or reducing irrelevant steps based on what the organization already knows. The best personalized experiences feel helpful, timely and respectful—not intrusive.

Designing for the under-engaged patient

If healthcare wants to close the adoption gap, it cannot design only for the most digitally confident users. It must also design for people who are hesitant, less experienced or more easily overwhelmed. Older adults are the clearest example, but they are not the only under-engaged group. Many patients disengage when interfaces are cluttered, terminology is confusing or support is hard to reach.

That means accessibility and simplicity should be strategic priorities, not compliance afterthoughts. Clear content, larger tap targets, consistent navigation, fewer steps and transparent instructions benefit everyone. So do helpful reminders, natural-language support and clear escalation paths when self-service is not enough. In a healthcare setting, trust grows when digital experiences make patients feel capable, informed and in control.

Organizations should also recognize that not every patient wants the same type of digital experience. Younger generations may expect more seamless and personalized interactions by default. Older adults may prioritize clarity, confidence and reassurance. The answer is not one-size-fits-all design. It is a flexible experience model that adapts to different needs while staying simple and coherent.

Trust is the foundation

Healthcare commerce depends on trust. Patients are being asked to share sensitive information, make decisions, commit to payments and act on guidance. If the experience feels opaque or insecure, adoption will stall.

That is why transparency around data use, strong privacy practices and dependable support matter so much. Organizations should make the value exchange clear: what information is being used, why it helps the patient and how it is protected. They should also ensure that digital tools are reliable, fast and well integrated. Technology becomes memorable when it fails at the wrong moment. In healthcare, those moments can shape a patient’s overall perception of the organization.

From transactions to continuity of care

Healthcare organizations have an opportunity to rethink commerce as part of a broader distributed care model. Patients are no longer interacting with care only in a single physical setting. They move across clinics, specialists, virtual touchpoints, service providers, payment systems and support channels. The digital experience must help connect those relationships into something more seamless.

That is where modern commerce capabilities become strategically important. Better scheduling, simpler payments, stronger self-service, more connected data and more relevant experiences can all contribute to a healthcare journey that feels more coherent from one touchpoint to the next. The result is not just a better transaction. It is a better patient relationship.

For healthcare leaders, the message is clear. The sector’s satisfaction and adoption gap is a warning sign, but it is also a significant opportunity. Organizations that make healthcare easier to access, easier to understand and easier to manage digitally can serve patients better while reducing friction and cost to serve. In a market where convenience, continuity and trust increasingly shape choice, closing the digital commerce gap is no longer optional. It is part of delivering modern care.