Derin™ EchoHer Case Study

Understanding How Healthcare Experiences Shape Women's Decisions

Product: Derin 

Summary

Surgo Health’s AI behavioral intelligence platform Derin collected and analyzed rich conversations with US women about their healthcare experiences. Surveys have consistently shown that women in the US feel dismissed by clinicians, struggle to receive timely diagnoses, and experience barriers to preventative care, but their fixed structure means they only capture the prevalence of discrete moments in the care journey. Derin’s adaptive AI conversations uncovered how specific healthcare experiences connect to real patient behaviors. Women described feeling dismissed and judged, experiences that cause some to avoid care-seeking. Others noted specific provider and facility traits that make them feel comfortable, and motivated to return. These insights provide a more comprehensive picture of women’s healthcare experiences than standard survey measures are able to show, allowing stakeholders to identify specific behavioral adaptations that impact outcomes.

What Traditional Measures Miss, and Why It Matters for Health Organizations 

Traditional measures can quantify patient satisfaction and trust, but they often miss how care experiences shape future behavior. By uncovering how women respond to positive and negative healthcare interactions over time, Derin helps organizations:

• Identify drivers of care avoidance and delayed care
• Strengthen patient trust and long-term engagement
• Improve patient experience and care delivery strategies
• Inform provider training and communication approaches
• Design more effective patient-centered programs and interventions
• Uncover barriers and motivators that traditional surveys miss

This behavioral intelligence helps organizations move beyond measuring patient experiences to understanding how those experiences influence future healthcare decisions and outcomes.

Challenge 

Researchers know that women commonly face barriers to appropriate, quality care, but they need more than prevalence numbers to meaningfully address this issue. Standard large-scale surveys, patient satisfaction surveys, and claims data measure only surface-level engagements and outcomes. Today’s data landscape lacks granular insights on how women respond to feeling dismissed, the behavioral changes that are triggered by different interactions, and the factors that actually encourage women to engage with providers.  

Approach 

Derin engaged respondents in adaptable dialogue, creating a safe platform to share their healthcare experiences. Most respondents were managing at least one chronic condition, and had rich, complex experiences to share. Derin tailored follow-up questions in real-time, probing for detail and following emotional threads, to surface the underlying behaviors that women adopt across their care journeys. The platform highlighted prevalent behavioral themes and rich analytics from the transcripts collected alongside relevant conversational excerpts to ground findings.

Results 

1. Appointment Burden

Women describe strategically preparing for and navigating healthcare appointments to avoid feeling dismissed, a hidden source of patient burden. 42% of respondents described specific tactics they employ to vet providers, anticipate dismissal, and steer the clinical encounter.

I'm also more likely to seek out female practitioners since (in my experience and that of other women and folks with mental health diagnoses on their charts) they are more inclined to listen to patients' concerns

I try to do my own research before reaching out to doctors if something slightly odd is happening to me. I know to bring more reliable people with me.

2. Care Avoidance

Women describe not mentioning health problems to their doctor because they don’t expect to be taken seriously. 20% of respondents said that feeling ignored or judged discouraged them from raising certain topics with their provider.

It definitely changed how often I sought out care for myself, because I didn't think I would get the help I actually needed. I started to rely on the internet for information.

It has definitely made me feel exhausted and at times not reach out to my doctor. He dismisses me so quickly.

3. Positive Reinforcers 

Small details can be enough to make patients feel safe engaging with their provider. 28% describe specific interpersonal, logistical, or environmental features that make them feel comfortable and engaged during appointments.

They have me take calming breaths. They ask what I have been doing since they last saw me. They also ask about my children which makes me happy and brings a sense of calmness.

My gynecologist's office has both a fake fireplace and an actual waterfall…it's the only place I'm calm enough to get a low blood pressure reading. The little things make a huge difference in an anxious patient's comfort levels.

See How Derin Turns Conversations Into Action

Move beyond what happened to understand why it happened. See how Derin uncovers the behaviors, motivations, and barriers that traditional analyses miss.

Talk to an expert and see Derin in action.