Digital Health Fragmentation

A fragmented user experience will lead to poor outcomes, and Digital Health Creates That Fragmentation. The patient is expected to participate in more and more programs to manage their health and wellbeing. Digital health creates more data, giving clinicians and payers new insights. But what is the cost of these insights?

The Fragmented User Experience

Unlock your cell phone and search for all the health and wellness apps you have and count them. How many do you have? One? Five? Ten? More?

How many of the apps have you opened in the last day? Week? Month? Year?

Do you even know what each app does, what the goal of their program is?

Digital Health Creates Fragmented Care

Data is more easily shareable. The cloud gives innovators, payers, and providers access to vast resources and ideas. But what is the cost of this access?

Innovators, payers, and providers pay with time and money. Both resources are plentiful in this sector. When you increase access to data across your organization, you increase value—making the use of digital health an easy decision.

The patient, however, pays in their privacy, their time, and their experience.

Reducing The Fragmentation of Data Is Creating a Fragmented Experience

The trajectory of investments pouring into digital health continues to rise. More and more people across the globe have two or more chronic health conditions. 

This trajectory is leading to a perfect storm of opportunity and catastrophe. More niche products and solutions are on the market, giving payers and providers the chance to choose what is best for the patient. 

Please do not see this as a negative toward niche programs. I am a believer in nailing it before you scale it. Check out my other post, Nail It Then Scale It.

The challenge here is that when a patient is on two, three, and sometimes even more programs, they must bounce around between them to meet each program’s goals.

Digital Health is at The Forefront of Universal Access, But We Must Do Better

Digital Health Creates Fragmentation!

Think about it.

We ask patients to use an app for their EMR, an app for their benefits, an app for EAP, RPM, Wellness, Nutrition, and the list goes on. No wonder patients regularly say they are overwhelmed or confused. 

We must fix the system and take the focus away from economics and think about the experience.