Two of the most common friction points encountered by patients when trying to access medical care relate to costs or payments.

These concerns are ranked second and third behind the single most common sticking point: selecting the specific professional the patient would like to see and asking questions about their care.

Eighteen percent of patients surveyed said it was a significant difficulty, according to “Accessing Healthcare,” a collaboration between PYMNTS and Experian Health based on a survey of 2,333 consumers.

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The second most common friction patients report encountering when dealing with different aspects of the medical care process is viewing bills, setting up payment plans, and getting paid. Sixteen percent of patients said it was a significant pain point.

The third most common problem is receiving accurate cost estimates before appointments and procedures. Fifteen percent of patients said it was a significant difficulty.

Patients want to pay for their medical care with a variety of payment methods. The largest share of consumers want to use cards – 27% say they would have used a credit card if it was available to pay for their most recent healthcare, and 23% said the same about a debit card. debit.

Patients also say they would use more digital or mobile wallets to pay their providers if these options were available. Data from PYMNTS shows that 28% of patients would have used these payment methods if they were available, with 16% citing PayPal, 4% citing Google Pay, 4% citing Venmo, 3% citing Apple Pay and 1% citing another wallet. digital.

The way they pay is quite different. The top three payment methods used by consumers to pay for their latest health care are cards and checks. Thirty-eight percent used a credit card, 32% a debit card and 8% a check.

Only 8% used digital or mobile wallets to pay their suppliers, including 4% using PayPal, 2% using Apple Pay, 1% using Google Pay and 1% using Venmo.