MedCity Influencers, Health Tech

Digital health solution: That shiny new object has your attention. Now what?

Digital health could range from EMR to Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solutions. For the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on patient interfacing solutions. Use these 15 screening questions to help your organization determine whether a solution is right for you.

If you are a health system, provider group, health plan, or a self-insured employer, chances are you have been courted by a digital health firm.

The landscape of healthcare has indeed seen an exponential outcropping of digital health companies in the past few years alone with some impressive dollars pumped into startups in this space.

There is no denying that there is power to be harnessed where technology, innovation and healthcare intersect. Especially, in the face of a global pandemic that has reset human and organizational behaviors and fundamentally altered consumer expectations around their interaction with the healthcare system.

Add to that, healthcare leaders have had to adapt to continued pressures of lower reimbursements, inflation, labor shortage and costs, non-traditional entrants into the ecosystem vying for market share and the continued ramp up of value-based care that has shifted risk to providers and taking on responsibility for the totality of costs, quality and patient experience.

The ongoing shifts in the market and the proverbial “ripe for change”, indeed needs to be met with action.

Combined with the promise of reduced ER visits and readmissions, better adherence to medications and treatment plans, or improved patient self-management of conditions and a host of other point solutions with digital health tools, there is potential for cost savings, improved patient experience and outcomes, with the bonus of being value differentiators for the organization. All of these have healthcare leaders wondering if they should be investing resources, time and effort into one of the many solutions in front of them.

Yet, there are cautionary tales of organizations who have implemented these solutions and have seen it fail as a costly experiment.  There are also success stories of organizations that have reaped benefits from the use of these digital health solutions. What then are the key determinants of success when it comes to adopting digital health solutions?

The key lies in discerning the right solution for each organization and evaluating the fit and need, as no two organizations are similar.

The ideal way to go about this, would be to do a proactive assessment of your needs, gaps and opportunities to chart an overall digital health strategy roadmap first and then engage with companies to evaluate the different solutions.

But when you feel like an opportunity may be knocking on your door, with a potential solution for a persistent and prevalent issue you are faced with, use the 4-blocker of questions to guide you to determine whether a solution is the right fit for you.

What other questions have you found helpful in determining whether a digital health solution is a good fit for your organization?


Avatar photo
Avatar photo

Sahana Sharan

For over 12 years, Dr. Sahana Sharan has held various leadership roles at Fortune 5 health plan, Fortune 200 hospital corporation and a large academic medical center. She has built and scaled new strategies, broken the performance plateau to achieve excellence and positioned companies to operate from a place of strength in the value-based care realm.

She started Elate Health Partners, a consulting and advisory firm, to help healthcare organizations tap into the tremendous potential where value-based care and traditional healthcare delivery intersect and grow, innovate and achieve superior results.

She is a physician by training and graduated with a master’s degree in healthcare finance from New York University.

This post appears through the MedCity Influencers program. Anyone can publish their perspective on business and innovation in healthcare on MedCity News through MedCity Influencers. Click here to find out how.

Shares1
Shares1