Experian Health’s 2026 State of Patient Access Survey Reveals Patient Experience Is Improving, but Big Challenges Remain for Healthcare Providers

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 24, 2026--

Experian Health today released its annual 2026 State of Patient Access Survey, revealing that while operational efficiencies and digital tools are driving measurable improvement, persistent staffing shortages and growing financial strain continue to impede patient access and overall experience. Nearly half of providers (46%) believe patient access is better than last year (up from 36% in 2025), while only 18 percent of patients believe it’s better (up from 16% in 2025).

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Access to care challenges

Authorizations, insurance verification and the cost of care are the top roadblocks to patient access:

Staffing shortages remain a major barrier

Though technology is helping to improve operations, healthcare organizations continue to struggle with workforce capacity and training deficits, which directly affect patients’ ability to receive care:

“Technology is helping close operational gaps in patient access, but the industry still must address financial and staffing pressures to truly streamline the patient journey," said Mindy Fortson, Chief Client Officer at Experian Health. "With growing opportunities for AI to ease front-office workloads and reduce claims denials, there’s reason for optimism about overcoming some of these challenges.”

Financial strain is worsening for patients

Adding to the mix, rising healthcare costs are creating significant friction for consumers and affecting providers’ ability to support patients:

Among patients who say paying for healthcare has improved (14%) or stayed the same (54%) over the last 12 months, greater transparency around costs is a key reason why, particularly the ability to understand how much care will cost prior to receiving services (40%) and being able to submit registration information prior to the visit (25%) as top reasons.

Strategic focus areas for providers

As financial and operational pressures intensify, providers are prioritizing several urgent initiatives to improve access. Many of these revolve around processing data more efficiently with 44% saying implementing faster, more comprehensive insurance coverage review and delivering accurate estimates as top urgencies.

Additionally, to future-proof patient access and the revenue cycle, providers say automation (35%) and AI (28%) are non-negotiable to extend optimization in ways that were not previously possible.

The survey, conducted among more than 200 healthcare providers and 1,000 patients, explored sentiment on the non-clinical patient experience and how the chronic staffing shortage is impacting the revenue cycle. To download the full 2026 State of Patient Access report, click here.

Experian Health offers a variety of solutions to simplify healthcare and address the evolving needs of patients and providers including patient engagement solutions and AI-powered products, such as AI Advantage and Patient Access Curator, that reduce claim denials.

About Experian Health

At Experian Health, we serve more than 60 percent of U.S. hospitals and more than 7,500 medical practices, labs, pharmacies and other healthcare providers with data-driven platforms and insights that help our clients make smarter business decisions, deliver a better bottom line and establish strong patient relationships.

Experian invests in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and innovate. As a FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 25,200 people across 33 countries. Our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com.

For more information about Experian Health, visit http://www.experianhealth.com. Learn more about Experian at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

Experian Health today released its annual 2026 State of Patient Access Survey.

BERLIN (AP) — Rescue teams in northern Germany are working to refloat a humpback whale stranded in shallow water in the Baltic Sea, racing against time in an effort to save its life.

Experts gathered Tuesday morning on the Timmendorfer Strand beach to find a way to get the 10-meter-long (30-feet-long) mammal off the ground after the high tide around midnight was not sufficient for the animal to swim free, German news agency dpa reported.

Earlier rescue efforts on Monday afternoon with police boats, inflatable boats and the help of firefighter drones guiding the rescue efforts were also unsuccessful.

The animal is still alive, breathing, making sounds and occasionally lifting its head, Carsten Mannheimer of the marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd told dpa.

So far, all rescue efforts have proven difficult.

Rescuers initially managed to turn the whale so its head was pointing toward deeper water, hoping it could find its own way back there, but the animal then turned back to its previous position. Boats from the coast guard and the fire department passed by, creating large waves in the hope of freeing the animal — but also without success, German public broadcaster NDR reported.

The animal, which weighs several tons, cannot actively be pulled back into deeper water because it could be seriously injured in the process, experts said.

“If the whale can’t get off the beach, it’s a death sentence for the animal,” Sven Biertümpfel of Sea Shepherd told NDR, adding that the whale’s condition is deteriorating by the hour.

Experts assume that the whale is a young male, as males, unlike females, tend to migrate. It also seems to be the same whale that has been spotted several times in the port of Wismar in eastern Germany in recent weeks.

It was not immediately clear why the whale got stranded, but rescuers found parts of a fishing net wrapped around the body of the whale, which they managed to cut off.

In the meantime, police cordoned off the beach area with construction fences to keep a large crowd of onlookers at bay.

"It is very important that the animal does not become even more stressed,” police spokesperson Ulli Fritz Gerlach said.

A cost guard boat patrols near a whale which washed up on the beach on the Baltic coast near Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Ulrich Perrey/dpa via AP)

People from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research observe a whale washed up on the beach on the Baltic coast near Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Ulrich Perrey/dpa via AP)

Rescue workers try to bring a whale stranded on the Baltic Sea coast back into deep water, near Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Jens Büttner/dpa via AP)

People from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research and firefighters attempt to free a whale washed up on the beach on the Baltic coast near Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Ulrich Perrey/dpa via AP)