If you are a health system, provider group, health plan, or a self-insured employer, chances are you have been courted by a digital health firm.

The landscape of healthcare has indeed seen an exponential outcropping of digital health companies in the past few years alone with some impressive dollars pumped into startups in this space.

There is no denying that there is power to be harnessed where technology, innovation and healthcare intersect. Especially, in the face of a global pandemic that has reset human and organizational behaviors and fundamentally altered consumer expectations around their interaction with the healthcare system.

Add to that, healthcare leaders have had to adapt to continued pressures of lower reimbursements, inflation, labor shortage and costs, non-traditional entrants into the ecosystem vying for market share and the continued ramp up of value-based care that has shifted risk to providers and taking on responsibility for the totality of costs, quality and patient experience.

The ongoing shifts in the market and the proverbial “ripe for change”, indeed needs to be met with action.

Combined with the promise of reduced ER visits and readmissions, better adherence to medications and treatment plans, or improved patient self-management of conditions and a host of other point solutions with digital health tools, there is potential for cost savings, improved patient experience and outcomes, with the bonus of being value differentiators for the organization. All of these have healthcare leaders wondering if they should be investing resources, time and effort into one of the many solutions in front of them.

Yet, there are cautionary tales of organizations who have implemented these solutions and have seen it fail as a costly experiment.  There are also success stories of organizations that have reaped benefits from the use of these digital health solutions. What then are the key determinants of success when it comes to adopting digital health solutions?

The key lies in discerning the right solution for each organization and evaluating the fit and need, as no two organizations are similar.

The ideal way to go about this, would be to do a proactive assessment of your needs, gaps and opportunities to chart an overall digital health strategy roadmap first and then engage with companies to evaluate the different solutions.

But when you feel like an opportunity may be knocking on your door, with a potential solution for a persistent and prevalent issue you are faced with, use the 4-blocker of questions to guide you to determine whether a solution is the right fit for you.

What other questions have you found helpful in determining whether a digital health solution is a good fit for your organization?