Professor Mike Trenell, co-founder of Changing Health, a specialist provider of personalised behaviour change programmes for Type 2 diabetes management, prevention and weight loss, discusses ways to scale Health Tech sustainably.
We’re moving toward a healthcare future, a one where we are empowered to live longer lives not by other people, but by our smart devices. Digital health is bringing our life choices to the fore and through real-time education, health, fitness and lifestyles are now in the palm of our hands, easing burdens on healthcare professionals and over stretched healthcare systems at the same time.
People with long term conditions – Type 2 diabetes, cancer, COPD and mental health difficulties, for example, can now be supported – and support themselves, in managing these conditions using technology that is already proven and readily available. As these apps, wearables and digital therapeutics are steadily rolled out across the nation, the potential to transform long term health outcomes at scale is almost boundless.
That future is exciting. But there’s a risk that we’re moving towards it so quickly that we lose sight of the user’s own needs in the pursuit of technological innovation. In our enthusiasm for novelty or what we hope will be breakthrough innovation, we may forget about the vital user-centricity that lies at the heart of the most effective digital health interventions.
Technology should enhance people’s sense of being in control and of having access to relevant and timely information – rather than making them feel like digital units in an anonymous machine. In order to scale Health Tech solutions sustainably, they must pass four key tests:
- Have the user’s needs, wants and limitations been fully understood?
Actual behaviour can be very different to theoretical or modelled behaviour. So, engage with users by communicating with them as much as possible, running regular user experience (UX) audits to gain a better understanding of how they’re using your product or service, what they like or don’t like about it, and where there’s room for improvement. Regardless of scale, there should never be an end to this process.
- Is the technology accessible (and is support available)?
Many tech companies assume that their products and services are so simple, smart and intuitive that anyone can use them ‘straight out of the box’ with only the most basic of instructions. In reality, there’s evidence that many of the people with the most challenging healthcare needs often struggle with new technology, particularly those with the lowest household incomes. So digital health innovations must be designed for – and with – an inclusive range of stakeholders to ensure that nobody is left behind.
- Is there a necessary human dimension?
We mustn’t forget that certain moments require human contact. Automated health predictions, for example, may improve efficiencies and free up healthcare professionals’ time, but the patient on the receiving end of some emotional news deserves to hear it from a person, not a chatbot. The knowledge that somebody is there when needed can improve the user experience immeasurably.
- Does the user know how their data is used?
Users trust digital health innovators to handle their data responsibly. That means maintaining the highest standards of transparency. Recent research suggests, however, that this is far from routine. Of the 24 most popular medicine-related apps, it found that19 shared user data with third parties, many of which advertised the ability to share with 216 “fourth parties” – advertisers, telecoms companies and credit reporting agencies. Many users will not be aware that their personal information is being used in this way. Making data practices clear from the outset and giving full control of those practices to the user is vital.
In just a few years’ time, the point of care will no longer be our doctors’ surgery or hospital; it will be wherever we can collect, access and interpret data. Importantly though, doctors, and ‘Actual Intelligence’ will not be replaced by Artificial Intelligence, but rather will be augmented by it.
Provided we can scale health tech sustainably by ensuring patient centricity always comes first, our smart devices will become the enablers for a healthier population – and a happier one too.