US seniors embrace digital payments; Siloam Hospitals goes cloud

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A new study has revealed that nearly 60% of American senior citizens prefer digital payment systems for healthcare services, a trend driven by changing consumer preferences.

According to a survey by TrustCommerce, 58.7% of persons above 60 in the United States have indicated “comfort” with digital payment options for healthcare expenses. The report surveyed 400 U.S. healthcare consumers across various demographics, with TrustCommerce analysts gleaning new insights.

Among individuals above 60, healthcare payments with debit cards are in pole position, with 38.7% of respondents choosing the method at the time of service. Cash-based payments come in second place at 6.75% while digital wallets make up 6.5% with 2.25% of respondents preferring checks.

For after-service payments, 45.25% of respondents above 60 indicate a preference for credit card-based payments. The TrustCommerce survey reveals that debit cards come in second place at 36.25% while digital wallets, cash, checks, and bank transfers make up 7.5%, 7%, 2.25%, and 1.75% respectively.

It also noted that patients are more likely to adopt digital payment systems for doctor and specialist visits, medicine prescriptions, and lab tests. However, analysts pointed out that patients’ preferences are largely consistent before, during, and after medical services.

“I think there is sometimes a mistaken perception that older consumers don’t want to use digital payment methods, but clearly that is not the case,” said John Welch, Chief Product Officer at TrustCommerce.

Several factors are powering the trend of senior citizens turning to digital payment systems to settle healthcare costs. Rising healthcare costs are forcing users to explore flexible options, with several respondents citing convenience and accessibility as key factors.

Furthermore, several older patients have shown a changing preference to allow service providers to store their credit card information as tokens for future use. However, some respondents have cited security concerns and difficulty using advanced technologies in payments.

US-based digital payments to spike

While healthcare is recording upticks in digital payments, a study has predicted that U.S. digital payments will record over $3.8 trillion in volume before the end of 2025. Credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets are tipped to drive the surge in transaction volume, while a slew of government initiatives will contribute to the projected numbers.

Outside of payments, the global healthcare system is undergoing major upheavals, buoyed by next-gen technologies. Several technology giants are steamrolling toward the launch of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions for healthcare amid grim warnings over the inherent risks associated with mainstream usage.

Leveraging Cloud

Siloam’s executives have highlighted a streak of early wins stemming from the transition of services to AWS Cloud. Siloam Hospitals Group CEO Caroline Riady announced that the pivot will enable real-time data access, advanced scalability, military-grade security, and lay the groundwork for AI utility.

The report reveals several key AWS services powering Siloam Hospitals’ digitization. For core app deployment, Siloam Hospitals will use Amazon Elastic Container Services (Amazon ECS), while Amazon RDS Aurora and Amazon ElastiCache will provide advanced data processing functionality.

Furthermore, Amazon EventBridge will offer streamlined communication for Siloam Hospitals’ microservices. Additionally, Siloam has integrated AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS), and AWS Backup for serverless backend automation and compliant data protection.

Integrating AI functionalities into existing operations is at the center of Siloam Hospital’s transformation. Leaning on AWS Cloud, Siloam has deployed AI for inventory management to automate data capture and auto-summarization of medical records to support doctors’ documentation of patients’ histories.

“With AWS, we are reimagining how healthcare works in Indonesia,” said CEO Caroline Riady. “We’re giving time back to our doctors, clarity to our decisions, and better outcomes for our patients.”

Across Indonesia, AI is recording impressive adoption rates among private enterprises and government agencies. To emphasize this point, Indonesia launched an AI Center of Excellence, seeking a sovereign infrastructure, triggering innovation, and boosting adoption metrics.

AI in healthcare receives a jolt

Since large language models (LLMs) hit mainstream acceptance, several technology giants have pursued AI solutions for the healthcare sector. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is proceeding with its healthcare chatbot after scoring a streak of early wins with general chatbots, while other Big Tech firms are exploring emerging technologies for early disease detection and administrative functionalities.

A report predicts that AI in healthcare will reach a market capitalization of $613 billion by 2024, driven by technology innovation and heavy private sector support. However, multiple studies have warned of potential flaws in AI-powered health solutions, with the World Health Organization advocating for strict guardrails to mitigate risks.

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