Gen Z Consumer Influence on Healthcare Industry

I run a company built around shift workers, and this surprised me: Gen Z isn’t just joining the workforce. They’re changing how it works. For years, the conversation has been about whether Gen Z can adapt to the workplace. It turns out we were asking the wrong question. They’re not just adapting to shift work. They’re rebuilding it. Gen Z is now 41% of the entire U.S. shift workforce. Slightly ahead of Millennials and far ahead of everyone else. This number is more than double in healthcare - an astounding 84.8% of healthcare shift workers are Gen Z. We see this, not because they had to take what was available, but because they brought something the sector desperately needed: a genuine orientation toward well-being and purpose that's now showing up directly in patient care. Empathy isn't a soft skill anymore. It's an operational input. The same pattern is showing up across hospitality, retail, and services. Gen Z brought people-first values to the shift floor. And businesses that figured that out early are seeing it in their numbers. For decades, shift work was designed around employer convenience. Fixed schedules. Rigid hours. Gen Z has rejected that contract, came back with better terms… and the market followed. Inc. Magazine dug into this and documented what many operators already knew firsthand - that the future of work isn’t being defined in offices. It’s being built on the frontline, by the next generation. Which leaves the question nobody in office work wants to answer: If frontline workers are transforming their industries by refusing the old model, why are we still designing office work like it's 2006?

Boomers can’t navigate patient portals. Gen Z won’t tolerate outdated tech. Healthcare leaders: When was the last time you experienced your patient portal through the eyes of a confused 70-year-old or an impatient 20-year-old? The digital divide isn’t a patient problem – it’s a UX design problem. Here’s why: 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀: • Less than 30% actually use portal features, despite 90% of providers offering them.[1,2] • Clunky interfaces, tiny fonts, confusing menus that no glasses can translate. • Digital confusion and trust issues prevent seniors from accessing critical care. 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭: • Zero tolerance for slow, outdated UX. • Quick to abandon clumsy apps and portals. • Expect seamless experiences like Instagram or Netflix. Anything less pushes them away. The good news? We can bridge the gap for both groups. Here’s how: ✅ 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀: Mobile-first designs, minimal clutter, clear language, intuitive navigation. ✅ 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: Multi-modal UX + AI (voice, video, chat) that meets users where they are – whether 25 or 75 years old. ✅ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Involve Boomers, Gen Z, and everyone in between to co-design solutions that actually work. ✅ 𝗔𝗜 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Use AI to personalize and simplify tasks, not complicate them. Make it a UX ally, not a gimmick. The bottom line? Great UX bridges generational divides. Bad UX creates them. – What’s your best (or worst!) example of generational UX in healthcare? Let’s design digital healthcare that works for everyone – not just some imaginary “average” user. - Sources: (1) Pymnts https://lnkd.in/gUuQKkZj (2) Medsphere https://lnkd.in/gBWvRGFm

Millennials and Gen Z now make up more than half the workforce, and they’re reshaping what health care needs to look like.   That’s why my colleague Ramin Davidoff, MD, and I wrote this article, published last week in Harvard Business Review, on how physician leaders can rise to meet the moment.   As physicians, health care leaders, and parents of young adults, Dr. Davidoff and I have seen firsthand that this generation needs affordable care that keeps them well, supports mental health, and fits seamlessly into their lives. They want to be heard, understood, and guided with clarity and respect. And they expect care that’s as easy to access as the services they use for shopping or banking.   Meeting these needs will require health systems to evolve — responsibly leveraging AI and virtual tools, prioritizing prevention, making mental health central to overall health, and expanding the physician pipeline to reflect diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities.   Delivering health care that truly works for younger adults means listening, building trust, and designing a system that empowers the next generation to thrive — and creating a roadmap to get there, together.   👉 Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/48BJtL4

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽: 𝗪𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺? We often assume healthcare utilization scales with age. The question in urgent care is which "age cohorts" are showing up more or less than their population size predicts? 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥-𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗗: 👓Baby Boomers (Age 62-80): 14.1% Visits vs. 20.5% Population  👔Gen X (Age 46-61): 17.1% Visits vs. 19.0% Population  👶Gen Beta (Age 0-1): 0.3% Visits vs. 1.5% Population 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘: 🧢Gen Alpha (Age 2-13): 14.8% Visits vs. 14.0% Population  🧓Silent/Greatest (81+): 2.5% Visits vs. 2.5% Population 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥-𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗗: 🤳Gen Z (Age 14-29): 26.3% Visits vs. 20.5% Population  🧔Millennials (Age 30-45): 24.9% Visits vs. 22.0% Population 𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: 📉 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀: Despite having greater medical needs, this generation makes up over 20% of the population but only 14% of UC visits. This suggests many are increasingly tethered to established primary care medical homes. 📈 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭: This cohort is driving volume, accounting for over a quarter of all visits despite being only 20% of the population. True digital natives, Gen Z prioritizes immediate gratification and access. They aren't waiting for a PCP appointment; they're booking the next available slot via digital channels. Urgent Care is no longer just "overflow" for PCPs and diversion for ERs; it is the primary "on-demand" solution for the younger workforce. Are you seeing this same demographic shift in your clinics or is your patient base aging with your operation? #UrgentCare #PatientExperience #GenZ #PrimaryCare #HealthcareTrends

Gen Z normalized talking about mental health. But talking isn’t the same as treating. Gen Z is 20% more willing to discuss their mental health than older generations. Nearly half have a mental health diagnosis. Two out of five are in therapy. They've done the work of normalizing the conversation. That's massive. But here's where the system is failing them: More than 90% of users abandon free mental health apps within 30 days. Young adults who need treatment but can't afford it are diverging sharply from older adults in the affordability gap. We taught them to recognize when they're not okay. But we haven't given them accessible, evidence-based tools to actually get better. Mental health literacy isn't the same as mental health recovery. The research is clear: Digital mental health interventions work, but only when they include human guidance. Apps alone don't cut it. Clinical support matters. The evidence shows that human-guided digital interventions have significantly stronger outcomes than self-guided tools. This isn't just a technology or awareness problem. It's a treatment infrastructure crisis. Gen Z opened the door by breaking the stigma. Now we need to build what's on the other side: affordable, evidence-based pathways from "I'm not okay" to "I'm getting better." That means investment in: - Accessible hybrid care models (digital + human support) - Employer-sponsored mental health benefits that actually work - School-based interventions with clinical backing - Insurance coverage that doesn't price out the generation that needs it most The conversation shift was Gen Z's gift to us. Building the treatment infrastructure is ours to give back. #mentalhealth #genz  #digitalhealth #mentalhealthcrisis #clinicalevidence #healthequity

Younger women are approaching health differently, and I think they’re right. Data shows Gen Z women are leading the shift to early hormone and cycle tracking. Nutrition Business Journal reports an unprecedented interest in progesterone testing among Gen Z women, signaling growing awareness of PCOS and endometriosis—far earlier than previous generations. A study of millennial and Gen Z women found that 62.3% use period-tracking apps primarily to predict and understand their menstrual cycles. What they’re building: Literacy before the crisis Awareness before burnout Prevention before intervention I see this shift as real progress. The best time to understand your biology is before it starts costing you. #GenZHealth #PreventiveCare #HormoneLiteracy #WomensHealth #HealthTech #FounderLife

Gen Z's first point of contact for healthcare? ChatGPT. Younger generations are asking LLMs if their rash is serious. Googling whether they need antibiotics. Turning to Reddit to interpret their labs (just look at r/AskDocs, where 700k+ people ask personal medical questions every day). Not because they distrust doctors, but because these platforms are accessible, fast, and low-cost, which is what they've come to expect in every part of their lives. Eric Larsen, President of TowerBrook Advisors, writes in The GenAI Juggernaut: “Consumers are already using GenAI in ways that circumvent the traditional healthcare system… creating real risk for payers and providers who are underestimating or ignoring this shift.” We’ve found ourselves in this state because the current healthcare system is reactive to behavior, not proactive to trends. Too often, we wait until consumer behavior has shifted, then scramble to catch up. We were late to mobile. Late to virtual care. Let’s not be late on AI-powered care, or worse yet, be complacent in believing that a chatbot with a human-sounding name is enough to check the box. Ignoring the shift to AI care doesn’t make it go away. It just creates blind spots, and puts health plans and providers at risk of falling behind. When members rely on AI for early questions and triage, but only show up to their insurer for expensive, late-stage interventions, the system becomes less predictable and more costly. The good news—it's not too late to design AI-based care models that are safe, effective, and built with the context of existing healthcare infrastructure. Healthcare’s evolving—and fast. I’ll be posting more often as we build Counsel Health. Follow me to stay close to the journey.

Here’s a stat that stopped me: 60% of U.S. adults and 75% of Gen Z have used AI for medical advice. (https://lnkd.in/g5fAsRc5)   We’ve seen this before - first Google, then social media. Now it’s AI: faster, widely used, but not always right. The opportunity isn’t to fight it, but to shape it: 🔹 Teach responsible use. Not to replace doctors, but to ask smarter questions before and during appointments and to verify with credible sources. 🔹 Meet Gen Z where they search. If AI is their first stop, healthcare leaders must make sure trusted, evidence-based information is what they find there - whether that’s through partnerships, better digital content, or responsible AI tools. 🔹 Elevate truth over misinformation. Because in healthcare, bad information isn’t just noise, it’s dangerous. The technology isn’t the problem. The problem is failing to prepare people for it. How we educate, guide, and empower users will define whether AI becomes a tool for better health or another source of confusion.   #AI #HealthcareLeadership #HealthEquity