Why Patients Leave

An empirical assessment of pre-visit friction, and what that means for you.

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

Key Findings at a Glance

Experience is shaping patient loyalty 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, etc. Incredibly important pieces, of course, but patients are already deciding how they feel about your health system before they ever walk through the door.

We commissioned a survey conducted by The Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults to explore how they feel about the pre-visit experience, from scheduling and forms to navigation and arrival. The findings can help health systems understand the actual impact of the pre-arrival experience.

79%

of respondents report stress around in-person medical appointments

43%

switched providers or avoided returning in part due to difficultly getting to the appointment location

82%

say a smooth pre-visit experience would boost care quality confidence

80%

say the first impression a providers makes happens before the visit

Focus 1:

What's Actually Stressing Patients Out

Patients expect a medical visit to be stressful. But the sources of patient stress aren't what you might think.

Some sources of stress around a visit are easy to predict. Stress about the unknown, completing forms, making appointments, and sitting in the waiting room are expected, and addressable. But some might be surprising. Even just getting to the appointment is causing as much (or more) stress than booking an appointment in the first place. And it starts before patients even show up.

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

There's a huge gap between Gen Z (91%) and Baby Boomers (59%). 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.

Key Takeaway

It's easy to notice and focus on the parts of the experience that are obvious. But stress starts before patients even show up, and younger patients are more likely to be stressed.

Focus 2:

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

😤

59%

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 say navigation can make them feel anxious before 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

For patients, friction in the experience damages overall perception of quality

59%

of patients say navigation difficulties negatively impact their overall perception of the medical provider.

💡

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 arrival experience for patients shapes perception into the visit and colors everything that comes after.

% saying navigation difficulty damages provider perception

Millennials (30–45)

69%

Gen Z (18–29)

65%

Gen X (46–61)

58%

Baby Boomers (62–80)

45%

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 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 may win. Majorites of Gen Z and Millennials say navigation guidance would influence 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

Friction is driving patients away

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 (e.g., ease of scheduling, online 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 and the greatest ability to switch.

💡

Why this matters

Patient acquisition costs are high. When 43% of patients say they've left a provider, or avoided returning to one, in part because of navigation challenges (and 57% of Millennials say the same), what seems like a small operational challenge becomes a solvable barrier to revenue.

% 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.

It's a retention problem overlooked by many systems.

Focus 3:

Beyond Navigation: The Full Picture

Navigation is one piece of a larger patient expectation.

📅

67%

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

✅

82%

would feel more confident about the quality of care with a smoother pre-appointment experience

🏥

83%

feel like they are receiving higher quality care when arrival for a medical appointment 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 provider's office offered a smooth pre-appointment experience.

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 IN CARE QUALITY with a smooth 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 among all ages: Baby Boomers (85%) , Gen X (84%) ,Millennials (82%) and Gen Z (80%). Across every generation, a smooth pre-visit experience translates directly into perceived quality of care. That perception can shape ratings, referrals, and loyalty.

Key Takeaway

83% of Americans feel they're receiving higher quality care when arrival for a medical appointment is frictionless.

The pre-visit experience extends past logistics and affects perception of clinical care.

Focus 4:

Turning These Findings Into Action

Build for every moment, including 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.

SOlution 1

📍 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

solution 2

📱 Mobile Experience Platform

Gozio's MEP extends beyond wayfinding, giving health systems a single platform to comprehensively engage patients in the channel they are on the most - mobile. Starting with the full pre-visit digital experience patients expect: scheduling, pre-check-in, digital forms, push notifications, wayfinding, and extending far beyond. All in a health system-branded mobile app.

When patients have a seamless experience from scheduling through arrival, and all the moments in between, you go from a transactional service to a deep patient relationship.

82%

say a smooth 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 americans told us	The stat	What it means for you
Navigation can make me anxious before the visit	65%	Anxiety follows patients into the exam room and colors their entire experience
Navigation difficulty negatively impacts overall perception of the medical provider	59%	Your brand is being judged before a clinician enters the room
Having clear directions and navigation guidance for getting to my appointments would influence my provider choice	70%	Wayfinding is a patient acquisition lever, not just a convenience
I've switched provider/chosen not to return to a provider partly because of navigation difficulty	43%	Navigation friction is a measurable, solvable retention problem
A smooth pre-visit experience would increase my confidence in the quality of care	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

Download Full Report Here

Why Patients Leave

An empirical assessment of pre-visit friction, and what that means for you.

Experience is shaping patient loyalty before they arrive.

Patients expect a medical visit to be stressful. But the sources of patient stress aren't what you might think.

Top stressors, ranked

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

Pre-visit anxiety starts at home

For patients, friction in the experience damages overall perception of quality

Navigation is now a competitive differentiator.

Friction is driving patients away

Navigation is one piece of a larger patient expectation.

Smooth experiences build care confidence

Build for every moment, including 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?