Why Patients Leave

Harris Poll Research · June 2026

2,000 Americans share what the pre-visit experience is really like and what it means for health systems trying to earn and keep patient loyalty.

About This Research

Sample

2,010 U.S. Adults

Weighted to be nationally representative

Generations Covered

Gen Z · Millennials · Gen X · Baby Boomers

Ages 18–80, defined by cohort

Key Findings at a Glance

The experience that shapes patient loyalty happens before they arrive.

When we think about the patient experience, the conversation usually starts inside the hospital because that's what's right in front of us. Quality of care, bedside manner, wait times. Of course those are important, but patients are already deciding how they feel about your health system before they ever walk through the door.

Gozio Health commissioned a Harris Poll survey of 2,010 U.S. adults to explore how Americans feel about the pre-visit experience, from scheduling and forms to navigation and arrival. The findings can help health systems understand where they might be falling short.

79%

report stress around in-person appointments

43%

have switched providers over pre-visit friction

82%

say a smoother pre-visit experience boosts care confidence

80%

say the first impression happens before the visit

Focus 01

What's Actually Stressing Patients Out

Going to the doctor is stressful. But the sources of patient stress may surprise you.

The scale and sources of that stress may surprise health system leaders. Navigation ties scheduling as a top-six stressor. Unlike many others on this list, it's a problem that begins before the patient even leaves home.

79%

of Americans say at least one aspect of an in-person medical appointment causes them stress, with younger generations hit hardest.

Top stressors, ranked

What stresses Americans most about an in-person medical appointment

1Waiting in the office38%

2Not knowing what to expect when I arrive27%

3Completing medical forms26%

4Worrying about being late due to travel or parking24%

5Navigating to the appointment: finding the location, parking, the office20%

6Scheduling an appointment20%

% reporting appointment-related stress, by generation

Gen Z (18–29)

91%

Millennials (30–45)

87%

Gen X (46–61)

80%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

59%

💡

Why this matters

The gap between Gen Z (91%) and Baby Boomers (59%) is 32 points. As younger patients become primary healthcare consumers, the baseline expectation for a friction-free experience will only intensify. Health systems that don't close the gap now will feel it in patient acquisition and retention.

Urban patients feel it most

For health systems operating large, complex urban campuses where navigation is inherently more challenging, this finding carries particular weight.

83%

Urban

77%

Suburban

76%

Rural

% reporting appointment-related stress by location type

Key Takeaway

Every stressor on that top-six list is something a better mobile experience can help solve: pre-check-in forms, parking guidance, and real-time navigation. The problems are clear. The solutions exist.

Focus 02

The Navigation Problem That's Costing Health Systems

Patients aren't just frustrated by difficult navigation. They're leaving because of it.

😰

65%

say navigating to an appointment makes them anxious before the visit even begins

😤

65%

say navigation difficulty negatively impacts their overall perception of the provider

🚪

43%

have switched providers or avoided returning partly because of navigation difficulty

Pre-visit anxiety starts at home

For the majority of patients, the anxiety of getting to an appointment begins before they ever leave home: finding the right building, locating parking, identifying the correct entrance.

💡

Why this matters

Anxious patients don't just have a bad navigation experience. They carry that anxiety into the exam room. It affects how they perceive the care they receive, how they rate it afterward, and whether they come back. Navigation isn't an ops problem. It's a clinical experience problem.

% who feel anxious about navigation before the visit

Millennials (30–45)

73%

Gen Z (18–29)

70%

Gen X (46–61)

66%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

54%

70%

🏙️ Urban

67%

🌾 Rural

62%

🏘️ Suburban

Navigation & Quality Perception

Patients use navigation as a proxy for care quality.

65%

of Americans say difficulty navigating negatively impacts their overall perception of the medical provider, even before they see a single clinician.

💡

Why this matters

Your HCAHPS scores, NPS, and star ratings are all being shaped by an experience that happens before the patient walks in. A bad navigation experience doesn't stay at the parking garage. It follows patients into the visit and colors everything that comes after.

% saying navigation difficulty damages provider perception

Millennials (30–45)

73%

Gen Z (18–29)

70%

Gen X (46–61)

66%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

54%

Key Takeaway

Patients aren't separating the navigation experience from the clinical experience. So even if the clinical experience is top notch, it is tarnished by their stress.

Navigation & Provider Choice

Navigation is now a competitive differentiator.

70%

of Americans say clear navigation guidance (turn-by-turn directions, parking, building maps) would influence their provider choice.

When two providers offer similar quality of care, the one that makes it easier to arrive wins. Gen Z and Millennials say navigation guidance influences their provider choice. These are the patients who will drive your long-term volume.

% saying navigation guidance would influence provider choice

Millennials (30–45)

78%

Gen Z (18–29)

74%

Gen X (46–61)

71%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

58%

76%

🏙️ Urban

71%

🌾 Rural

66%

🏘️ Suburban

% saying navigation guidance influences provider choice by location

Navigation & Patient Retention

Patients are walking away... and not coming back

43%

of Americans have switched providers, or avoided returning to one, in part because of a difficult experience getting to the appointment.

80%

agree the first impression a provider makes happens before the visit: scheduling, pre-check-in, navigating to the appointment.

Urban health systems face the steepest challenge: larger campuses, more competition, and patients with the least tolerance for friction.

💡

Why this matters

Patient acquisition costs are high. When 43% of patients say they've left a provider over navigation (and 57% of Millennials say the same), that's not a minor frustration. That's a measurable revenue problem with a solvable root cause.

% who have switched or avoided returning due to navigation difficulty

Millennials (30–45)

57%

Gen Z (18–29)

55%

Gen X (46–61)

41%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

22%

Key Takeaway

Nearly half of American patients have walked away from a provider, partly because getting there was too hard. This is a retention crisis hiding in plain sight.

Focus 03

Beyond Navigation: The Full Picture

Navigation is one piece of a larger patient expectation.

📅

67%

agree pre-appointment friction sets a negative tone for the entire visit

✅

82%

would feel more confident in care with a smoother pre-appointment experience

🏥

83%

feel they receive higher quality care when arrival is frictionless

⭐

80%

agree the first impression a provider makes happens before the visit

Smooth experiences build care confidence

82%

would feel more confident in the quality of their care if the pre-appointment experience was smoother.

Easy scheduling, online pre-check-in, and not needing to re-complete paperwork on arrival are all elements patients associate with a high-quality provider. Delivering on them doesn't just reduce friction. It actively builds confidence in clinical quality before the patient sees a single clinician.

% who'd feel more confident with a smoother pre-appointment experience

Baby Boomers (62–80)

85%

Gen X (46–61)

84%

Millennials (30–45)

82%

Gen Z (18–29)

80%

💡

Why this matters

This expectation is universal: Baby Boomers (85%) and Gen X (84%) are most likely to agree, followed by Millennials (82%) and Gen Z (80%). Across every generation, a smoother pre-visit experience translates directly into perceived quality of care. That perception shapes ratings, referrals, and loyalty.

Key Takeaway

83% of Americans feel they're receiving higher quality care when arrival is frictionless. The pre-visit experience isn't just logistics. It's clinical perception.

Focus 04

Turning These Findings Into Action

Built for every moment before the visit.

Gozio Health builds the mobile experience infrastructure that health systems need to meet patients where they are, before, during, and after the visit. Our platform addresses the exact friction points patients identified in this survey.

Product 01

📍 Wayfinding

Gozio's blue-dot indoor navigation gives patients turn-by-turn guidance from their car to the exam room, including parking instructions, campus maps, building-level directions, and department-level wayfinding. For Epic health systems, Gozio's wayfinding is embedded directly in MyChart, meeting patients inside the app they already use and trust.

The result: patients arrive with confidence instead of anxiety.

70%

of patients say clear navigation guidance would influence their provider choice

Product 02

📱 Mobile Experience Platform

Gozio's MEP extends far beyond wayfinding, giving health systems a single platform to deliver the full pre-visit digital experience patients expect: scheduling, pre-check-in, digital forms, push notifications, wayfinding, and more. All in a health system-branded mobile app.

When patients have a seamless experience from scheduling through arrival, they arrive confident, prepared, and positively predisposed.

82%

say a smoother pre-appointment experience would increase confidence in care quality

The full picture at a glance

Every finding in this report points to the same conclusion: the pre-visit experience is a strategic asset, not an operational afterthought.

What patients told us	The stat	What it means for you
Navigation makes me anxious before the visit	65%	Anxiety follows patients into the exam room and colors their entire experience
Navigation difficulty damages my perception of the provider	65%	Your brand is being judged before a clinician enters the room
Navigation guidance would influence my provider choice	70%	Wayfinding is a patient acquisition lever, not just a convenience
I've switched providers partly because of navigation difficulty	43%	Navigation friction is a measurable, solvable retention problem
A smoother pre-visit experience would increase my care confidence	82%	Digital experience investment directly improves perceived quality of care
The first impression a provider makes happens before the visit	80%	The full pre-visit journey is brand territory. Manage it accordingly.

Ready to close the
pre-visit gap?

See how Gozio's wayfinding and Mobile Experience Platform address the friction your patients are already feeling.

Request a Demo

Appendix: Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Gozio Health from June 9–10, 2026, among 2,010 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. Data are weighted where necessary by age by gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and political party to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Generational Definitions

Gen ZAges 18–29

MillennialsAges 30–45

Gen XAges 46–61

Baby BoomersAges 62–80

About Gozio Health

Gozio Health is the leading provider of mobile experience platforms for health systems, delivering seamless digital experiences across the full patient journey, from scheduling and wayfinding to care management and beyond. Learn more at goziohealth.com

Why Patients Leave

The experience that shapes patient loyalty happens before they arrive.

Going to the doctor is stressful. But the sources of patient stress may surprise you.

Top stressors, ranked

Urban patients feel it most

Patients aren't just frustrated by difficult navigation. They're leaving because of it.

Pre-visit anxiety starts at home

Patients use navigation as a proxy for care quality.

Navigation is now a competitive differentiator.

Patients are walking away... and not coming back

Navigation is one piece of a larger patient expectation.

Smooth experiences build care confidence

Built for every moment before the visit.

The full picture at a glance

Ready to close thepre-visit gap?

Appendix: Survey Methodology

Generational Definitions

About Gozio Health

Ready to close the
pre-visit gap?