Good day to you all. I’m writing this blog to start a dialogue. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in telehealth, telemedicine and digital health services. Indeed, it’s an exciting time seeing how the improvements in technology based connectedness are being leveraged to remove barriers to care for patients all across the world.

I’m often asked to share my thoughts on the digital health landscape and where the opportunities and challenges exist. The image above pops into my mind during these discussions as a tangible illustration of the pitfalls I would argue we all need to avoid… providing access at the compromise of quality. I cringe when I read articles that characterize telemedicine companies as wanting to become the ATMs of healthcare inasmuch as it implies a depersonalized and transactional patient encounter for issues that can sometimes be very personal and delicate.

Because we are entrusted by consumers, and expected to deliver quality, when they step out onto that proverbial “bridge” they must trust that their footing will be solid. And yet, we see countless solutions being trumpeted as “the broadest this, the fastest, the most convenient” and so forth. While I absolutely agree those are important attributes, in many cases I feel this is done at the compromise of quality…I mean real quality, going beyond ensuring the providers in the network meet basic credentialing standards.

We live in a time of unparalleled connectivity. Unlike ever before, we have the ability to leverage our historic connectedness to not only remove barriers to access, but to also get patients to the best providers for their condition…not just those who are in close geographic proximity and have an appointment available. We have become accustomed to shopping online and our devices using sophisticated matching logic, algorithms and artificial intelligence to curate content for us and deliver a concierge like experience in our internet commerce. Should we not then, demand the same for the most important and potentially expensive consumer experience of them all (i.e. healthcare)?

To that end, my challenge for our collective industry is as follows:

Match patients to the best providers for their condition, not just to those who have appointment availability. By this I mean personalizing medicine. Who can get this specific patient well, the fastest?
Guarantee improved outcomes and medical savings. Assume risk. Measure it with real data.
Avoid financial structures like subscription or FFS that disincentives improving health quickly.
Train providers, support them at every patient engagement and help them learn from the collective experience of all to make them continually better.
Provide practice management and clinical insight real time, while treating the patient so that it’s actionable while the patient is “in session.”
Demand all of the above, from your behavioral health telemedicine / telehealth solution as well.
Provide outcomes data. Clinically validated, clinical trial and real world studies.

What do you think? I’d welcome comments and the beginning of a dialogue. I know we all are driven to make a difference and look forward to us all sharing, comparing and daring to transform healthcare for the better..