The COVID-19 pandemic pushed ahead a very big shift that was already trickling into the healthcare industry, which is digital health and virtual engagement.
During a May 6 virtual presentation hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by League, industry experts discussed how the healthcare industry is rapidly digitizing amid the pandemic and best practices for providers to boost engagement with patients.
The presenters were:
- Mike Serbinis, founder and CEO of League
- Cary Grace, former CEO of Aon
- Mike Butler, former president of Renton, Wash.-based Providence and healthcare operating partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Four key takeaways:
1. 2020 served as significant accelerator across many secular trends: e-commerce, grocery and food delivery, digital content and digital health. "A lot of these technologies have been around for a while, and adoption has been anywhere from slow to steady, depending on the sector," Mr. Serbinis said. "I think we can all safely say that's been true about a lot of digital health technologies – virtual health sessions have been around for quite a while, but very few of us actually did that before last year."
2. Necessity is the mother of invention. Consumers have gotten a taste for digital services and will continue to expect these offerings such as increased telehealth even after the pandemic.
3. Healthcare players must adopt the hurry-up offense. Payers, providers and pharmacies must think about "remaking themselves in the eyes of the consumer and create experiences that are ultimately all about driving engagement," Mr. Serbinis said, citing Netflix's shift from a mail order service used maybe once a month to a digital service used all the time.
"Netflix expanded their mindset and their market and became digital first," he said. "They introduced bulk of new content and services – this year spending $17 billion, up from less than $1 billion 10 years ago – and beyond that, driving personalization. That's where it's at – creating engaging experiences for consumers is the key to being relevant in this new era of digital health."
4. Create experiences that can be recognized every day. Healthcare is one of the most important aspects of everyday life, whether it's your child being born, receiving a diagnosis or working on a healthy lifestyle. For this reason, it's important to look at the customer comprehensively.
"Look at the customer for life," Mr. Butler said. "Look across from beginnings, insurance, all the way through health and everything in between, and how you create that stickiness so that they're a customer for life. As you're working with insurance companies and employers, consider how your product could respond particularly to this new virtual working challenge [and increased digital engagement]."