The Healthcare Consumer 2026

How Search, Social Media, and CTV Shape the Patient Journey

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About This Report
Consumers turn to search engines first for answers to health-related questions, even as social, video, and AI tools gain ground. Meanwhile, streaming TV is reshaping healthcare ad reach. Digital drives health-related action—but trust gaps shadow every channel.
Table of Contents

Our survey of 2,138 US consumers who seek health information online reveals the digital channels they use throughout their care journeys—and how that information drives action.

Key Question: How should consumer use of online channels for health information inform brand marketing strategies?

Key Stat: Among consumers who seek medical information online, 84.1% use search engines, with 65.1% starting there—making search the dominant and primary channel for health queries.

authors

Rajiv Leventhal

Contributors

Beth Snyder Bulik
Eleni Digalaki
Na Li
Director, Primary Research
Penelope Lin
Director, Data Visualization
Jennifer Pearson
VP, Research
Naomi Rebuelta
Copy Editor
Heather Sprung
Senior Editor
Johann Valderrama
Data Visualization Editor
Emman Velasco
Data Visualization Editor
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