Patient Experience

Patient Experience in Healthcare: What Patients Expect Now

Beyond good medicine, patients expect digital access, short waits and transparent billing. Here’s the data — and how to deliver it.

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Patient experience is the sum of every interaction a person has with your practice — booking a visit, waiting to be seen, talking with the provider, checking out, and paying the bill. Clinical quality still matters most, but patients increasingly judge a practice on the non-clinical parts, and they’ll leave for a competitor when those fall short.

The good news is that most of the patient experience runs on software you already own. Below is what patients expect in 2025, the data behind it, and practical ways to improve — plus how MedTec.ai helps. Book a demo or explore the platform.

What do patients expect from a practice today?

Beyond good care, patients now expect digital convenience: online scheduling, appointment reminders, short wait times, virtual visit options, easy digital intake and checkout, transparent and easy-to-pay bills, and access to their own records. When a practice makes these hard, patients — especially younger ones — increasingly switch to one that doesn’t.

The Data

What Patients Expect — By the Numbers

Recent survey and study data on patient expectations and behavior.

35%
of patients would switch providers over a frustrating or outdated digital experience — 61% among ages 18–24.
Cedar / eMarketer
89%
of patients want to schedule appointments anytime through online or mobile tools.
Industry survey, 2025
1.8% vs 5.9%
No-show rate for appointments booked online vs. booked by phone.
Frontiers in Digital Health
79%
of patients read online reviews before choosing a provider.
Repugen / Tebra
31 days
Average wait for a physician appointment across specialties — up 19% since 2022.
AMN Healthcare, 2025
52%
say a unified digital experience would increase their loyalty and referrals.
Patient survey, 2025

Figures come from named 2024–2025 surveys and studies and vary by population and methodology. Sources: Cedar, AMN Healthcare, Frontiers in Digital Health, Repugen/Tebra.

The Playbook

How to Improve the Patient Experience

  1. Offer online self-scheduling. Patients expect to book anytime — and online bookings no-show far less than phone bookings.
  2. Automate reminders. Text, email and portal reminders cut no-shows and keep the schedule full.
  3. Shorten the wait — and offer virtual visits. Fast access is a top driver of satisfaction; telehealth adds a convenient option.
  4. Digitize intake and checkout. Online forms and a smooth checkout reduce lobby time and improve collections.
  5. Make billing transparent and easy to pay. Clear, digital-first bills are a leading reason patients stay — or leave.
  6. Give patients access to their records. A portal with records, results and messaging meets expectations and supports the Cures Act.
The Tools

How MedTec Powers a Better Experience

Appointment Scheduling

Online self-scheduling, real-time availability and automated reminders to cut no-shows.

Explore Appointment Scheduling →

Patient Management

A patient portal, digital intake and records access — the front door to a modern experience.

Explore Patient Management →

Telehealth

Virtual visits give patients convenient access without adding a trip to the clinic.

Explore Telehealth →
Further Reading

More on the Patient Experience

What Modern Patients Expect

The 6 non-clinical expectations that shape whether patients stay or leave.

Read the article →

Checkout & Patient Loyalty

How a smoother checkout improves collections and turns one-time patients into loyal ones.

Read the article →

The Waiting Room of the Future

Virtual-first care and AI triage are emptying the physical waiting room.

Read the article →

Transparency Starts with the Chart

HIPAA access rights and the Cures Act — what patients are entitled to see.

Read the article →

Why the Screen During My Visit?

The documentation burden from the patient’s chair — and how AI changes it.

Read the article →
Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is patient experience in healthcare?
Patient experience is the sum of every interaction a person has with a practice – scheduling, waiting, the visit itself, checkout and billing – and how easy, respectful and connected those interactions feel.
What do patients expect from a practice today?
Beyond good care: online scheduling, reminders, short waits, virtual visit options, digital intake and checkout, transparent easy-to-pay bills, and access to their own records.
Does online scheduling reduce no-shows?
Yes. Appointments booked online no-show around 1.8% of the time versus about 5.9% for phone bookings, and patients strongly prefer being able to book anytime.
Why do patients switch providers?
Increasingly over experience, not just clinical care. About 35% of patients would switch over a poor or outdated digital experience, rising to 61% among 18-to-24-year-olds, and poor billing or admin experiences are a top reason.
How can an EHR improve the patient experience?
An EHR with a patient portal, online scheduling, automated reminders, telehealth, digital intake and transparent billing removes the friction patients notice most – and keeps the whole record connected.
Get Started
Give Patients the Experience They Expect

Online scheduling, reminders, telehealth and a patient portal — all in MedTec. Book a demo or compare plans.

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