Creating Opportunities for Success in Today’s Digital Health Landscape

Digital health companies have faced an incredibly challenging landscape as funding has shifted from abundant to highly limited – creating a need to show immediate results and revenue in an industry where even the most promising innovations can take time to take root and flower. While there are signs of a return to a steadier capital environment, the digital health space looks significantly different than it did even a few short years ago now that we’re on the other end of a pandemic that has irrevocably changed the health landscape and are facing ongoing economic uncertainties.

Despite these factors, the next chapter of digital health is not all doom and gloom. But, it is one in which success is not guaranteed simply because a company has “a great idea.” It is imperative for emerging leaders to tell a clear story of why their innovations are not only an improvement on the status quo, but are truly revolutionary in how we deliver care, treat challenging conditions and improve health.

Within our Digital Health practice at Real Chemistry, we’re working with many of today’s digital health leaders. Through that work, we have identified some key areas where innovative companies must focus to find success in today’s landscape.

Arm Yourself with Results

Digital health companies are now operating in an environment in which investors, regulators and consumers are all too familiar with hearing grandiose claims from technology companies that simply did not pan out – or, worse, that betrayed the ideals they claimed to hold. In the United States, trust in technology companies has declined in recent years. With something as personal, sensitive and high-risk as health, a degree of skepticism is understandable.

Companies that want to succeed in this space can and must counter this cynicism by showing that their offerings deliver on their promises. Having real data that demonstrates not just efficacy and safety, but also speaks to a real and tangible improvement over existing approaches, is critical in making the case for any digital health innovation today. On top of this, companies must be able to present this data in a way that resonates with all the audiences they need to reach, telling their story in ways that matter to providers, consumers, payors and investors.

Make Yourself Irreplaceable

The largest digital health success story in the past few years has been the widespread adoption and success of telehealth, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. While these services may have become the status quo eventually absent the pandemic, the need to continue providing health access amid a public health crisis accelerated the rollout and adoption of telehealth services. It’s clear, even as the pandemic abates, that these services are here to stay because they work, are convenient and make accessing healthcare easier for many.

While the circumstances that created the telehealth boom are unique (and not an experience that anyone wants to repeat), we can see the lesson here that finding moments and opportunities to put digital health solutions in the hands of people can help demonstrate their viability and establish the kind of “stickiness” that comes with a truly innovative product or solution.  

Whether it’s collaborating on pilot programs with partners or creating opportunities for media and influencers to get first-hand experience with your technology, digital health companies should actively seek out opportunities to have their solutions used in the real world in ways that convert people into advocates and validators.

Be a Disruptor – By Working with the Establishment

The last huge technology boom was driven by a “move fast and break things” mentality – the downsides of which we have seen all too often in recent years. Extra caution is needed for innovators working in the healthcare space because of the risks involved. Disruption there has a higher difficulty because health, by its nature, is highly complex and heavily regulated.

Often, this means that entrenched and established companies in the healthcare industry have a better chance of success than even the most promising start-ups. Fortunately, the majority of these large companies also see the value in digital health and in where new and innovative tech-driven solutions can help expand their offerings.

For up-and-coming digital health companies, establishing partnerships with companies that already have established infrastructures for navigating complex regulatory environments and bringing products to market can drive momentum and adoption.

Put Your Data to Work

All digital health companies are, in some ways, in the business of creating, collecting and analyzing data. Artificial intelligence is an ever-increasing topic of conversation among investors, the media and the general public, and it is more important than ever that companies be able to concisely and clearly show how they are putting data to work in productive, ethical and secure ways for patients. Here at Real Chemistry, we’ve made this a focus, using data to better understand the media and influencer landscape in objective and quantifiable ways.

Not every company needs to be – or should be – an AI company, but there is a growing need to be conversant in how AI and machine learning technologies are playing a role in future plans.

There is no single formula for success in digital health, but companies that are aware of the current landscape and pivoting are going to be the ones that are the most prepared to benefit as opportunities arise. The pandemic uncovered how agile, fast and innovative companies can be when there is open collaboration. And the success of digital health is necessary for solving some of our biggest challenges – worker shortages, equitable access and, perhaps the greatest challenge of all, developing cures for diseases that are only moonshots today.

To learn more about how Real Chemistry can work with you to realize the full potential of your digital health solutions, I invite you to reach out at dcarter@realchemistry.com.

Interested in learning more about digital health at Real Chemistry? Listen to our Real Chemistry Podcast episode featuring Jennifer Goldsack, CEO of the Digital Medicine Society, and Real Chemistry’s Chief Marketing Officer Aaron Strout.

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