Disruptive Digital Innovation in Healthcare Delivery: The Case for Patient Portals and Online Clinical Consultations

Abstract

Health care is the largest service sector in many economies worldwide, but it lags behind other industries in the use of efficient and innovative approaches to both patient care and service organization. Thus, innovative, disruptive models of healthcare delivery that leverage current information, communication,and decision technology platforms in novel ways have the potential to change the practice of healthcare delivery and management. To satisfy the growing demand for medical care, several new models are currently being developed and piloted, such as online medical consultations, which do not rely on face-to-face visits as the sole model of care delivery. Alongside, the current patient-centered care imperative has also resulted in the use of portal technologies, among others, to inform, engage, and empower the patient in shared decision making. In this chapter, we briefly introduce different types of digital service innovations in health care and provide some details about these current streams of care delivery innovations, particularly in the primary care setting given its broad influence on overall healthcare services. Furthermore, we focus on the potential of online care delivery that includes web portal services for patients and online medical consultations beyond simple email communications between patients and physicians. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of these models for the future of healthcare delivery in the digital age.