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New NRC Health Research Reveals What Drives Patient Loyalty Beyond Access
Business Wire
Thu, July 30, 2026 at 6:30 PM GMT+5:30
4 min read
- NRC
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New analysis finds that trust, confidence, and clear communication have a stronger influence on loyalty than access alone
LINCOLN, Neb., July 30, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–People know the value of time in healthcare. Whether it’s waiting weeks for an appointment or hours in an emergency department, access matters. New research from NRC Health suggests that what happens after access may matter even more
NRC Health’s latest nSight report, The Currency of Time: Easy Access to Care Isn’t Enough to Earn Patient Loyalty, finds that confidence and trust are more strongly associated with loyalty than timeliness alone, and that loyalty falls from 98% to 58% when friction accumulates across the care journey
The research explores the Currency of Time framework, which examines how people evaluate healthcare through two distinct lenses: time saved and time well spent. Time saved reflects how easy it is to access care. Time well spent reflects whether people feel heard, informed, confident in their care, and clear about what comes next. Organizations that excel do both
“Healthcare organizations have invested heavily in reducing friction and improving access, and the data show meaningful progress,” said William R. England, Ph.D., Strategic Advisor, Research, at NRC Health. “But access is only part of the story. The organizations that earn loyalty are the ones that make each interaction count, helping patients feel informed, supported, and confident in their care.”
Key Insights from the Research
The analysis combines NRC Health’s nationally syndicated healthcare consumer research with patient experience feedback collected from tens of millions of patients each year across hundreds of partner organizations nationwide. Together, these dataaccess care, experience care, and decide where to receive it
59% of older consumers reported no access barriers in the past year, compared with just 37% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers
Confidence/trust and understanding/clarity showed the strongest relationships with patient loyalty
Loyalty declined from 98% among patients reporting no friction to 58% when friction occurred before, during, and after care
Beyond Efficiency: What Drives Loyalty
The report finds that timely access is often the price of admission, but not the reason patients remain loyal. When organizations simultaneously measure confidence, clarity, reassurance, and communication, confidence and understanding emerge as the strongest predictors of whether people will recommend their care experience to others
