One of the largest healthcare networks on the West Coast delivers more than 30,000 babies annually, but only a small fraction of those children ultimately establish care within their network of pediatricians. In order to grow pediatric practices and ensure higher continuity of care from pregnancy into childhood, we needed to better understand how parents are selecting pediatricians and what factors they use to make decisions about care for their newborns.

Given that most parents use the internet to make decisions, I began with an internet-based market scan to understand the experience of someone looking for a pediatrician in our communities. Additionally, an analysis of reviews of the top pediatric practices in our communities illuminated the variables that attract and discourage parents when making decisions about pediatric care for their families. Through our patient survey tool, we added a question asking about why parents visiting our clinics had selected their provider. Finally, I conducted consumer interviews with young parents to better understand their experience and everything they considered when making choices as well as what tools or support might help them in making those choices in the future. 

Through the research, insights revealed shopping patterns that were different for pediatric providers compared to adult providers and specialists. The market review and analysis of our own services highlighted actionable strengths and areas for improvement in our online presence. Finally, research findings were shared with key decision makers across the organization to ensure a commitment to a cross-functional approach to additional innovation in this area.