The healthcare industry continues to lag in customer engagement compared to other major industries, according to a Virtusa Corp. report.
Virtusa, an IT outsourcing services company, tapped Forrester Consulting to develop the report on digital maturity. For the report, Forrester surveyed 606 executives from six industries — banking, healthcare, insurance, media, retail and telecommunications — about customer experience, company operations and business innovation.
Forrester determined healthcare ranked as the third-highest industry on digital maturity, based on responses from 101 executives from provider, payer, pharmaceutical and device-maker organizations.
Healthcare ranked second on data optimization and operational excellence, according to the report. Forrester noted the majority of technological advancements in healthcare center on data security, business processes and record-keeping, which are required in the industry's "hyper-regulated market."
These developments come at the expense of the healthcare industry's investment in more innovative areas, such as customer engagement and business innovation, where healthcare ranked fourth on Forrester's industry index.
"Forrester's past research has shown that healthcare firms typically lag about a decade behind other industries in adopting business technologies that would help with customer engagement," the report reads. "Much of what's driving this lag is the unique regulatory requirements placed on healthcare firms as it applies to patient data."
Healthcare ranked last among the six industries on preparedness for disruptive business models, according to the report. However, 86 percent of healthcare executives indicated plans to increase their respective organizations' budgets for innovation in the next year.
To access the report, click here.