This document analyzes visit trends and behaviors across four healthcare segments - Consumer Information, Payers/Pharma/Device, Healthcare Providers, and Practitioners - based on data from 650 websites from January 2015 to June 2017. Key findings include: 1) Smartphones now account for over 50% of visits for some segments as they are the only growing device; 2) Total visit growth depends on growing smartphone traffic which has increased 41% while desktop visits decreased 23%; 3) Marketing channels vary by segment and device, with search dominant on smartphones and direct visits on desktops.

2. Healthcare | 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview
3) Methodology
4) Key Findings
5) Glossary
Highlights
5) Healthcare costs perceived as rising
6)
7) Consumer interest in healthcare tracks with insured
population
8) Digital Savvy consumers break along generational lines
9) Anticipated healthcare spending higher among less savvy
consumers
10) Visits to healthcare websites declining
11) Healthcare segments vary in terms of devices used
12) Healthcare is as mobile as other regulated industries
13) Smartphones are the future of healthcare
14) Every segment sees the same pattern in trends by device
15) Total visit growth dependent on growing smartphone traffic
16) The path to websites differs between smartphones and
desktops
17) The role of marketing channels vary across segments
Segment Breakdowns
The following are available for each of the four segments
• Visit trends and shares by device
• Marketing channels by device year-over-year
• Visit shares by connection type
• Visit shares by operating system
Highlights
18) Wi-FI and iOS account for majority of mobile visits
19)
20) Mobile upside hampered by lack of consumer interest.
21) Health Insurance websites used more their apps
22) Awareness of health insurance apps is low.
23) Sharing of health-related information

3. Healthcare | 2017
METHODOLOGY
The Healthcare report for 2017 contains aggregated and anonymized visits to websites across the healthcare eco-
system. It covers 650 sites grouped into four segments that combined had 17+ billion visits since January 2015
Consumer Information: websites that contain health information targeted to consumers; may cover self-diagnosis, product and
treatment options, and/or community support
Payers, Pharma & Device: websites focused on interacting with Health Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Device companies.
Practitioner and Consumer sites sponsored by these companies are in their respective segment
Healthcare Provider: websites focused on services offered by doctors, dentists, clinics or hospitals
Practitioner (HCP): sites designed for practitioners; they may provide information, subscriptions, training and/or ordering functionality
.
Annual online healthcare survey among 1,000 consumers 18+ conducted between August 14th and August 21st, 2017 to
websites and apps for health and wellness.

4. Healthcare | 2017
KEY FINDINGS
1. Smartphones are the future of all online industries, and digitally savvy users are there
But:
2.
3. No one is seeing healthcare get better and cheaper
4. There may be a limit to interest in smartphone-based healthcare
Still:
5. Marketing channels can reach smartphone users
6. Practitioner sites may offer a mobile opportunity

5. Healthcare | 2017
Healthcare costs perceived as rising or at best staying the same
Insights:
•
than inflation
• Patient payments now account for 27% of
Outpatient and 12% of Inpatient Services
providing more opportunity to see actual
costs1
• Older consumers more likely to state costs are
rising
1. Source: Crowe Horwath Benchmarking report Q3

6. Healthcare | 2017
Insights:
• Even with advances in technology
healthcare quality is viewed as the same
as five years ago by the majority of
consumers in each age bracket
• Younger respondents (18-34) are more
likely to state the overall quality has
improved (23% to 14%)

7. Healthcare | 2017
Interest in consumer healthcare topics tracks perfectly with insured population
Insights:
• There is no geographic bias or hotspots in terms of consumers looking for healthcare information on
Source: Insured population from Henry J. Kaiser Family FoundationMore people 
Morevisits

8. Healthcare | 2017
Digital Savvy-ness breaks along generational lines
Insights:
• Baby Boomers and Silent Generation (those 50+) are more than twice as likely to admit to not being digital
savvy than the generations that grew up with technology (38% to 16%)
Baby Boomer – Silent GenerationGen Z Millennials Generation X

9. Healthcare | 2017
Insights:
• Because comfort with digital technology decreases with age and healthcare costs increase with age the
industry faces a challenge. Those spending the most also need the most help in understanding and using
technology

10. Healthcare | 2017
Visits to many healthcare websites declining
Insights:
• As an industry, browser-based visits to websites
have decreased by 9% in the past 30 months
• The one bright spot where visits increased over
time is among Practitioner sites (+15%) suggesting
healthcare professionals are constantly seeking new
information

11. Healthcare | 2017
Healthcare segments vary in terms of devices used to reach sites
Insights:
• Two segments, Consumer Information and Healthcare Provider, see well in excess of 50% of their
traffic from mobile devices on part with content rich industries like Media & Entertainment
• Practitioner and Healthcare Companies are clearly desktop-centric.

12. Healthcare | 2017
Healthcare is as mobile as other regulated industries
Insights:
• While there is variance across healthcare segments, the overall average is on par with both Auto,
Home & Life Insurance and Banking & Investment.

13. Healthcare | 2017
Smartphones are the future in healthcare.
Insights:
• Like other industries, smartphones are the only growing device.
• Visits across all segments from smartphones are up 41% since January 201 while Desktop and Tablet
traffic are down 23% and 44%, respectively

14. Healthcare | 2017
Every healthcare segment sees the same pattern by device
Insights:
• Practitioner sites see the highest smartphone growth, +97%, though they did start from
a lower initial share in Q1 2015., 20%
Visit Trends by Device: US Jan 2015 to Jun 2017
Mobile
Smartphone Tablet Desktop TOTAL
Consumer Information 25% -52% -42% -23%
Healthcare Provider 34% -24% -18% -5%
Practitioner 97% -25% -1% 15%
Payers, Pharma & Device 34% -62% -28% -20%
Source: Adobe Analytics

15. Healthcare | 2017
Total growth driven by success in supporting smartphone visits
Insights:
• Healthcare sites need ~50% smartphone growth to grow topline visits
• Healthcare has a tougher task than large companies in other industries, including regulated ones like Auto,
Home & Life Insurance or Banking & Investment, which need 15-20% smartphone growth to maintain
positive momentum
Denotes relationship between
smartphone and total growth.

16. Healthcare | 2017
The path to a website differs between smartphones and desktops
Insights:
• Smartphone users leverage marketing channels more to find a website
• Desktop traffic relies on recall: 76% of the traffic is Natural Search or Direct

17. Healthcare | 2017
The role of marketing channels vary across segments
Insights:
• Practitioners have the most Direct Traffic: people know where to go, or have it bookmarked
• Consumer Information sites rely heavily on marketing, especially SEO (70% on smartphones and 76% on
desktops)

18. Healthcare | 2017
Wi-Fi and iOS account for the majority of mobile visits
Insights:
• No change in underlying technology of how people connect to healthcare websites.
Share of Visits by Connection Type & Operating System
Q2 2017 Q2 2016 YoY Change
Connection Type Wi-Fi/LAN Mobile Carrier Wi-Fi/LAN Mobile Carrier Wi-Fi
Smartphone 58% 42% 57% 43% +2%
Tablet 89% 11% 89% 11% 0%
Operating System Apple iOS Android Apple iOS Android iOS
Smartphone 60% 40% 59% 41% 1%
Tablet 78% 22% 77% 23% 1%
Source: Adobe Analytics

19. Healthcare | 2017
Digital savvy more adept at using a smartphone for health-related activities
Insights:
• An average of 25% of the Digital Savvy
use their smartphone across 17 activities
compared to 20% of Not Digitally Savvy
• Given that information-related usage is
much higher there is potential room
from improvement.

20. Healthcare | 2017
Smartphones used to track activities, not necessarily to enroll
Insights:
• Tracking goals fitness or weight loss are twice as common as purchasing or enrolling in such
programs.

21. Healthcare | 2017
Smartphones used to refill prescriptions, not buy insurance
Insights:
• Standing orders and adding to account much more frequent than buying policies or paying premiums

22. Healthcare | 2017
Smartphones may be used used to locate or schedule services
Insights:
• Scheduling and treatment options involving search or one-way communication more likely to occur
than two-way interactions with providers

23. Healthcare | 2017
The mobile upside hampered by lack of consumer interest.
Insights:
• Among those not already using heir smartphone to interact with healthcare companies, a third of the
Digital Savvy and half of the Not Digital Savvy have no interest in doing so in the future
• Apps are not perceived as being the answer; there is less interest than with browsing.

24. Healthcare | 2017
Health Insurance Websites Used More Frequently Than Apps
Insights:
• Attracting non-savvy consumers to digital properties faces a significant challenge: Interest
• More than half of the non-savvy consumers did not use a healthcare website (52%) or an app (62%) in
the past six months
• Savvy consumers much more likely to use a website.
• Seven-out-of-ten (72%) used a health insurance website compared to 38% for apps .

25. Healthcare | 2017
Awareness of apps for managing insurance is low.
Insights:
• Less than half of consumers know whether their insurance company offers a mobile application
• The divide is most noticeable between digital savvy and non-savvy consumers, who express a high degree
of uncertainty. (55% are Not Sure).

26. Healthcare | 2017
Consumers more comfortable sharing data when there is a reason
Insights:
• Digital Savvy more inclined to share than Not Digital Savvy across all potential recipients
• Over half of both groups are uncomfortable with sharing health-related data with the government

27. INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN
DATA INSIGHTS BY SEGMENT
HEALTHCARE | 2017

28. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Consumer Information Visit Trend and Share
Highlights:
• Total visits declined 23% on average since Jan 2015
• Smartphone share of visits closing in on 50%; segment has been mobile since Q2 2016

29. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Consumer Information - Marketing Channels
Insights:
• Natural search dominates the way people find health-related Consumer Information sites; optimize
SEO

30. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Consumer Information Connection Type
Overview:
• Smartphone visits are typically conducted over Wi-Fi; slightly more than industry average of 58%
• No change year-over-year

31. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Consumer Information Operating System
Overview:
• Smartphone visits are typically conducted via an iOS- powered phone; slightly more than industry average
of 60%
• No change year-over-year

32. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Payers, Pharma & Device Visit Trend and Share
Highlights:
• Given weakness in smartphone traffic, total visits declined 20% on average since Jan 2015.
• - -of-4 visits originating from a desktop.

33. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Payer, Pharma & Device - Marketing Channels
Insights:
• Search leads the way people find corporate sites on smartphones (51%); on desktops direct or
bookmarked traffic accounts for a quarter of the traffic.

34. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Payers, Pharma & Device Connection Type
Overview:
• Smartphone visits are typically conducted over Wi-Fi; slightly less than industry average of 58%
• No change year-over-year

35. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Payers, Pharma & Device Operating System
Overview:
• People are slightly more likely to be using an Android phone than the industry average of 42%.
• No change year-over-year

36. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Practitioner Visit Trend and Share
Highlights:
• Based on strong smartphone performance, total visits increased 15% on average since Jan 2015
• Smartphone share of visits closing in on 50%; segment has been mobile since Q2 2016

37. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Practitioner- Marketing Channels
Insights:
• Brand oriented or memory tactics (Natural search and Direct) are the preferred paths that
practitioners reach practitioner sites; B2B style marketing

38. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Practitioner Connection Type
Overview:
• Smartphone visits are typically conducted over Wi-Fi; slightly more than industry average of 58%
• No change year-over-year

39. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Practitioner Operating System
Overview:
• More likely to use iOS tablets than other healthcare segments; above average use of iOS phones
• Small shift in phone usage away from iOS (-2%) and to Google Android (+6%)

40. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Healthcare Provider Visit Trend and Share
Highlights:
• Buoyed by only small drop in desktop activity total visits only declined 5% on average since Jan 2015
• Smartphone share has exceeded 50% since Q2 2016

41. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Healthcare Provider - Marketing Channels
Insights:
• Provider sites leverage Social/Display channels on smartphones and search/direct traffic on desktops.

42. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Healthcare Provider Connection Type
Overview:
• Smartphone visits are typically conducted over Wi-Fi; even with the industry average of 58%
• No change year-over-year

43. Healthcare | 2017
Segment View: Healthcare Provider Operating System
Overview:
• Highest proportion of Apple phone visits in healthcare (66% vs. industry average of 58%)
• Smartphone: Apple iOS grew (+5%) at expense of Google Android (-7%) among this segment of sites.

44. Healthcare | 2017
GLOSSARY
Metrics and Definitions
01 Devices: Desktop, Smartphone or Tablet
02 Mobile Device: Smartphone or tablet devices
03 Website Visit: Visit to a website, regardless of device; does not include
app visits
04 Visit Growth: Trend in visits computed over two time periods
05 Marketing Channel: Visits sourced from a marketing channel (as
opposed to direct traffic/entering the URL)
06 Operating System: Underlying software running a mobile device
07 Connection Type: The method by which a mobile device connects to
the Internet; Either mobile network or Wi-Fi
Segments
01 Consumer Information: websites that contain health information
targeted to consumers; may cover self-diagnosis, product and treatment
options, and/or community support
02 Payers, Pharma & Device: websites focused on interacting with
Health Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Device companies.
Practitioner and Consumer sites sponsored by these companies are in
their respective segment.
03 Healthcare Provider: websites focused on services offered by doctors,
dentists, clinics or hospitals
04 Practitioner (HCP): sites designed for practitioners; they may provide
information, subscriptions, training and/or ordering functionality