TALKING

A seamless flow between the physical and digital worlds is the key to making telehealth successful .

at the right time , without getting hung up on whether it ’ s physical or digital .

Digital health , supported by telehealth , needs to become less fragmented

Imagine a patient who has recently had surgery for a knee injury . Their insurer has paid their claim , but when the patient calls for a follow-up tele-consultation , the doctor they speak with doesn ’ t know in advance that they ’ ve had surgery . Meanwhile , their well-being app still tells them to walk 10,000 steps per day .

So far , digital health has operated in a silo . Right now , this fragmentation is being managed by the consumers themselves ; they are the ones dealing with the complexity . But a digital native is used to advanced levels of personalization . When they need to make a seemingly everyday transaction , such as buying groceries or calling a taxi , the outlets they ’ ve used before will often remember who they are and what they ’ ve ordered previously . So , when they come to healthcare , it ’ s off-putting to find that a provider they ’ ve been with 10 years doesn ’ t know half as much about them .

This is why there has been a lack of trust in telehealth – it looks to the customer as though their provider doesn ’ t even know them . So , providers need to offer a more connected experience .

The industry understands the potential of telehealth – and that potential is huge . There ’ s a lot of good work being done in silo , but for patients to accept digital as a viable way to take care of their health , we need those different parts to come together , and form a single , flowing user journey . From the smartwatch on their wrist and the well-being app on their phone , to the video consultation they ’ ll have with their doctor and the appointment they ’ ll ultimately attend with a specialist – if we can find ways of making this a seamless and personalized journey , that the patients themselves aren ’ t required to manage , we ’ ll be on our way to making a success of telehealth .

We have all the parts . We know what needs to be done , and we have a unique opportunity , as we come out of the pandemic , to bring all of those moving parts together . The question now is will we ? p

38 INTELLIGENTCIO LATAM www . intelligentcio . com