Digital Health: Unlocking Value in a Post-Pandemic World.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed health care, spurring a revolution in digital health technologies. Across the world, hundreds of thousands of health care systems are considering a central question: how do we connect with our patients? Digital health has been used as a stopgap in many cases to continue the essential functions of health systems. As the post-pandemic world and our "new normal" come into focus, further needs will have to be met with a digital patient interaction, with an eye toward value transformation. One barrier to fully leveraging digital tools is the lack of a framework for classifying the type of digital health care. This can limit our ability to design, deploy, evaluate, and communicate through digital means. This article presents 3 categories of digital health and their relationships to value metrics: (1) telehealth or direct care delivery, (2) digital access tools, and (3) digital monitoring. An evidence-based discussion reveals past successes, current promises, and future challenges in reducing defects in value through digital care. In the coming years, value transformation will become more crucial to the success of health care systems. By using the taxonomy in this article, health systems can better implement digital tools with a value-driven purpose. Defining the role of digital health in the post-pandemic world is needed to assist health systems and practices to build a bridge to value-based care.