A significant proportion of healthcare consumers begin their search for a provider online, then convert by picking up the phone. The 33 statistics below, all sourced from established research firms, describe this pattern in detail, using US market data. They are worth reading as directional benchmarks, not literal figures for the Malaysian market: with 98.0% internet penetration and 35.4 million internet users in Malaysia (DataReportal, Digital 2026: Malaysia), the underlying behaviour, researching online before booking, valuing phone contact, reading reviews, is plausible here too, even where the exact US percentages do not transfer directly.
Key Takeaways
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The healthcare patient journey frequently begins online
- Health-related inquiries account for 5% of all searches conducted on Google. (Source: Google)
- Search engines drive three times more visitors to hospital websites compared to non-search methods. (Source: Think with Google)
- Patients who schedule healthcare appointments perform three times more searches compared to those who don’t. (Source: Think with Google)
- Across various healthcare sectors, more than 60% of consumers conduct searches before booking an appointment, particularly for physical therapists, nursing homes, and optometrists. (Source: LSA)
Online reviews play a significant role
- 94% of healthcare patients use reviews to evaluate providers. (Source: Software Advice)
- 84% of consumers consider online reviews as trustworthy as personal recommendations. (Source: Inc.)
- An opinion about a practice can form after reading just 1 to 6 online reviews. (Source: RevLocal)
- 81% of consumers report some dissatisfaction with a healthcare experience they have had. (Source: Prophet)
- Approximately 43% of Millennials are inclined to switch healthcare practices within the next few years. (Source: SolutionReach)
Healthcare marketers are investing more in digital ads
- US healthcare advertising spending increased 11.5% in 2022. (Source: eMarketer)
- US healthcare digital ad spend was projected to grow around 10% in 2023. (Source: eMarketer)
- In 2021, US healthcare digital advertising spending surpassed healthcare TV advertising spending for the first time, reaching 46% of total healthcare ad spend. (Source: Zenith Media)
- The average cost for acquiring a healthcare lead in the US stands at around $286. (Source: HubSpot)
Many healthcare patients researching online convert by calling
- Phone calls account for 88% of healthcare appointments scheduled in the US. (Source: Sequence)
- Online scheduling constitutes only around 2.4% of US healthcare appointments. (Source: Accenture)
- For nursing homes, physical therapists, and chiropractors specifically, consumers are most inclined to contact providers by phone after an online search. (Source: LSA)
There is real revenue potential in driving more calls
- Calls were projected to influence around $1 trillion in US consumer spending. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
- Phone calls generate 10 to 15 times more revenue compared to web leads in US healthcare marketing. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
- Callers convert around 30% faster than web leads. (Source: Forrester)
- The retention rate of callers is around 28% higher than that of web leads. (Source: Forrester)
- 45% of US healthcare marketers report that phone calls yield higher conversion rates and larger average order values than other engagement types. (Source: Forrester)
- Within a 12-month period, 33% of US healthcare providers reported a 25% or greater increase in phone conversion rates. (Source: Forrester)
- 81% of US healthcare marketers consider inbound calls a crucial part of their digital-first strategy. (Source: Forrester)
- 77% of US healthcare marketers believe inbound call insights can reveal costly organisational blind spots. (Source: Forrester)
- 76% of US patients have made a phone call at some point during their healthcare journey. (Source: Invoca)
- Patients commonly call providers for more information about services, often preferring the personal touch of a phone call over a web form. (Source: Invoca)
Healthcare marketers are personalising the caller experience
- 80% of customers consider a company’s experience as important as its products or services. (Source: Salesforce)
- A single poor customer service experience has led 65% of consumers to sever ties with a brand. (Source: Digiday)
- 32% of consumers consider phone calls the most frustrating customer service channel when handled poorly. (Source: Aspect)
- 41% of US healthcare marketers report improving, or expect to improve, patient experience by scaling conversation intelligence. (Source: Forrester)
- The same trend, scaling conversation intelligence, has led 41% of US healthcare marketers to report improved patient acquisition and retention. (Source: Forrester)
- Patients tend to hold higher personalisation expectations for phone interactions than for other channels. (Source: Invoca)
- When providers successfully personalise interactions, 49% of patients feel the provider cares about earning their business, and 47% become more likely to choose them. (Source: Invoca)
What this means for healthcare marketing in Malaysia
The patterns above, research before booking, trust in reviews, the value of a real phone conversation, are worth taking seriously even though the underlying data is American. What changes in Malaysia is the regulatory layer: any campaign built around these patterns still needs to work within PDPA, KKM, MAB, and KKLIU requirements specific to Malaysian healthcare advertising. MYSense’s clinic advertising compliance guide covers that framework directly.
Practically, this suggests a few genuinely transferable priorities for Malaysian healthcare marketers: make it easy to find and call a practice from a search result, take online reviews seriously as a trust signal, and treat the phone conversation itself as a conversion moment worth optimising, not just a fallback for people who could not book online.
So what can you do?
Partnering with a digital marketing agency that understands both these patterns and Malaysia’s specific regulatory environment can meaningfully strengthen a healthcare marketing strategy.
Social media management
Tailored social strategy that builds trust and drives engagement, ultimately supporting more call conversions.
Influencer marketing
Identifying and collaborating with relevant KOLs whose values align with a brand, within Malaysia’s healthcare disclosure and compliance requirements.
SEO
Effective SEO strategy to improve visibility, drive organic traffic, and attract more potential patients.
SEM
Targeted paid campaigns via Google Ads, built to reach people actively searching for relevant healthcare services.
Website development
A mobile-responsive, user-friendly website that makes it genuinely easy for visitors to find information and pick up the phone.
By partnering with MYSense, healthcare organisations gain a team that understands both what these global patterns suggest and what Malaysia’s specific regulatory environment requires.
