What Do IVF Patients Really Want? – Cedro Strategy

Cedro Strategy shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Fertility treatment is often talked about in numbers: success rates, embryo counts, age brackets. Yet IVF cannot be defined by numbers alone. It is one of the most personal and demanding journeys in healthcare – where the patient experience, from guided support and clear communication to seamless technology and consistent care, can be as decisive as the science itself.

Every patient walks into a clinic with a unique story that statistics cannot capture. Success rates and physician credentials are easy to promote, but they rarely reflect what truly shapes trust. Behind every consultation is a question that data alone can’t answer: Will I be heard, guided, and understood?

Too often than not, IVF clinics frame their reputation based on two things: how successful they claim to be, and how impressive their roster of doctors looks on paper. Yet with technology advancing and embryology labs increasingly meeting or exceeding global benchmarks, clinical outcomes are no longer the differentiator they once were.

Today, the real difference also lies in the overall patient experience: how effectively patients are guided, how clearly information is explained, and how consistently they are cared for. Reputation is no longer defined by outcomes alone but by ownership — not just what happens in the lab, but how the entire journey is designed and delivered from start to finish.

IVF Has a Binary Outcome

What makes IVF distinct in healthcare is its binary outcome: either a patient gets pregnant, or they do not. This clarity is exactly why transparency is essential along the patient journey.

Patients need to understand their true chances of success, not just a percentage on a website. They must also understand the biological building blocks that matter: the number of mature eggs retrieved, the motile sperm available, the rate of fertilization, the number of normal embryos, and ultimately the ability to sustain a pregnancy through to delivery. Without clarity on these steps, ‘success rates’ are vague.

What Patients Actually Expect

Patients want to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby. That is the ultimate goal. Accordingly, clinics need to maximize the probability of a healthy live birth with minimal physical, emotional, and financial resistance. Beyond this, they want clarity and personalization. They do not want vague promises or generic statistics. They want explanations that are clear, consistent, and jargon free. A clinic that tells patients what will happen without clearly addressing the five W’s – who, what, when, where, and why – is no longer deemed acceptable.

The Emotional Weight of the Journey

IVF is one of the most emotionally taxing forms of medical care. The uncertainty, the waiting, the fear of failure – it can weigh just as heavily as the medical procedures themselves. Some clinics still treat this as peripheral, but it’s not. Counseling and structured check-ins are not an optional add-on but a necessary part of patient care.

Digital Tools Are No Longer Optional

Technology is now central to the experience. Patients expect digital access that makes their journey easier. An app that connects them with their coordinator, allows direct messaging, enables appointment booking, delivers results securely, and provides answers to frequently asked questions is no longer a luxury. Patients can already book a salon or car service in seconds, yet many IVF clinics still rely on outdated booking channels and legacy call centers that frustrate patients. The DoH’s Standard for Patient Experience in ART Clinics raises the bar by mandating digital access and setting expectations that modernize the patient journey.

Eliminate Friction — Everywhere

The process also demands repeated visits, time off work, strict medication schedules, and constant coordination across departments. Patients want clinics that reduce friction at every step. This means streamlined scheduling, efficient communication of results, coordinated appointments, and predictable timelines. Reducing wasted waiting time and minimizing disruption to daily life is now a regulated standard, not just a best practice.

Be Honest About Costs

Cost transparency remains one of the strongest patient expectations. Too often patients are confronted with hidden fees, unexpected add-ons, or unclear package inclusions. This immediately erodes trust, especially in a treatment as emotionally and financially demanding as IVF. Patients want a clear breakdown of costs from the very beginning: what is covered, what is optional, and what the total likely commitment will be across the journey.

Patients Crave Continuity

Continuity of staff is equally critical. While clinics often highlight their physician bench, patients on the ground experience rotating nurses, shifting coordinators, and inconsistent handovers. This lack of consistency creates confusion, undermines confidence, and leaves patients feeling like they have to retell their story at every visit. The DoH framework addresses this problem directly, requiring clinics to demonstrate consistency in their care teams and mandating dedicated patient coordinators who take ownership of the journey. Accountability must shift from being a talking point to being a regulated standard.

Respect and Privacy are the Non-Negotiables

Respect and privacy are fundamental in building patient trust. IVF patients expect to be treated as individuals, not as cases on a conveyor belt. They want their values to be considered, their questions to be answered fully, and their privacy protected at every step. This includes private consultation spaces, secure handling of medical records, tokenized digital queuing, and sensitivity in how staff interact. The new DoH standards put these expectations into enforceable requirements, ensuring clinics can no longer rely on goodwill alone — they must demonstrate respect and privacy through system design and daily practice.

The Future of IVF Care

What’s clear now is that the bar has shifted. In Abu Dhabi, the roadmap is already drawn. Patient experience is now regulated, not optional. Clinics that fail to adapt will not just disappoint patients, they will fail compliance.

Patients want IVF delivered as a professional, accountable service designed around their needs –  with transparent information, clear costs, consistent teams, efficient processes, emotional support, digital access, and a respectful journey. Outcomes will always matter, but they are only one measure of success. The clinics that will lead in this new landscape are the ones redesigning care from the patient’s point of view, where the science is strong but the experience is even stronger.

Disrupt. Innovate. Elevate.“