Notes from the Field: Real stories from digital health founders

About the Digital Health expert Dael Stewart

Dael is a Lead Product Strategist for the Digital Health vertical at TXI. With a human-centric approach, he is focused on delivering digital products and services supporting the needs of patients, users, and provider-companies to build more accessible, equitable, and innovative solutions across the digital health landscape. With over 20 years of experience, Dael acts as a trusted advisor to healthcare leaders across the digital health landscape; helping them understand that focusing on the patient and creating ‘sticky’ experiences drives improved outcomes for patients and systems alike. Dael’s curiosity and deep expertise allows him to both challenge and collaborate with clients, colleagues, patient advocacy groups, and healthcare systems—driving innovative end results that improve individual and collective wellbeing.

Summary and Themes Explored in This Webinar

Understanding the Differences Between Digital Therapeutics, Remote Monitoring, and Chronic Care Management

• Digital Therapeutics (DTx): Digital therapeutics require FDA clearance to diagnose or treat medical conditions, involving proof of concept studies and rigorous trials.

• Remote Monitoring (RM): Remote monitoring entails continuous health tracking using digital tools but does not directly diagnose or treat conditions.

• Chronic Care Management (CCM): Chronic care management provides ongoing support for patients with chronic conditions by combining remote monitoring, education, and regular check-ins.

• Demonstrating Value and ROI: To establish value and return on investment (ROI), data analysis is crucial. Companies often rely on publications, white papers, and case studies to build credibility. ROI calculations consider factors like reimbursement rates, cost savings, and long-term profitability.

• Focus on Clinical Outcomes: The ultimate goal includes improving patient outcomes, reducing hospitalizations, and enhancing the overall patient experience.

Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Creating Effective Healthcare Products for Patients, Providers, and Payers

• Patient-Centric Approach: Building healthcare solutions that prioritize the patient experience is key, as satisfied patients are more likely to engage with the product and follow care plans.

• Streamlined Workflows: Ensuring that the solution simplifies provider workflows is crucial to gaining their support. When healthcare providers find a product user-friendly and efficient, they are more likely to adopt it.

• Tech-Enabled Services: Combining technology with services can help bridge the gap between patient engagement and healthcare provider support, making it easier for all parties involved.

• Data-Driven Outcomes: Demonstrating improved patient outcomes and lower total cost of care can be persuasive in gaining payer support, as it aligns with the goals of value-based care.

• Advocating for RPM and CCM: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Chronic Care Management (CCM) should be considered long-term solutions for chronic disease management, not just trends from the COVID-19 era.

Lessons from Digital Health Innovators

• Patient-Centric Approach: Prioritize building solutions that patients love, ensuring they remain engaged and motivated to use the platform.

• Tech-Enabled Services: Simplify provider workflows by integrating technology that automates administrative tasks, freeing them to focus on patient care.

• Proven Clinical Outcomes: Demonstrate improved patient outcomes and reduced total cost of care to justify payer reimbursement and support the scalability of remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM) programs.

Surprises and Lessons Learned:

• Extended Use: Unexpectedly, patients expressed reluctance to discontinue using the platform after the initial therapy period, highlighting the appeal of the digital therapeutic's continuous support.

• Medication Monitoring: Recognizing the synergy between behavioral therapy and medication monitoring, the platform adapted to accommodate this feature, aligning with patient needs.

• Iterative Innovation: Embracing an entrepreneurial spirit, the teams continually gather feedback, pivot as needed, and enhance their solutions, ensuring ongoing relevance in the dynamic digital health landscape.

Navigating the complexities of digital health implementation

Challenges Faced:

• Change Management: Healthcare providers may resist tech-enabled services, necessitating corporate-level communication strategies to ensure provider comfort and understanding.

• Technical Challenges: Integration with electronic health record (EHR) systems like Epic poses technical hurdles, requiring alignment with provider workflows and the ability to support different data models.

• Billing and Revenue Cycle: Scaling up brings complexities in charge entry, insurance reimbursement, patient copays, and revenue cycle management, often overlooked by digital health companies.

Accelerators:

• Partner Collaboration: Collaborative health systems willing to integrate new technologies play a pivotal role in overcoming technical challenges and serve as early adopters.

• Intelligent Integration: Customized interfaces aligned with provider workflows streamline data entry and enhance the usability of digital health solutions.

• Automated Billing: Implementing automated billing and financial interfaces helps manage large-scale CPT code charges efficiently, reducing administrative burdens on healthcare organizations.