1. Digital Health Service Providers.
One of the biggest difficulties in implementing the Digital Health Model we are proposing is the low digital awareness of many of those responsible for the service, i.e. the providers and suppliers who care for patients.
To implement these digital models, you need the right technological developments, but you also need a digital culture and the willingness and determination to implement and enhance these models.
We will describe the tools that would be needed and some of the important points in this process of digitization of providers‘ and suppliers’ networks. There would be three prior considerations to consider:
1.1. Differences between provider and supplier.
A distinction must be made between a provider and a care provider. The provider is the one who guarantees the contractual and administrative conditions of the service. The provider is the accredited professional who performs the service and guarantees the technical-clinical conditions of the service. In many cases the provider and supplier will be the same.
1.2. Channels for providing services.
The same service provider may have different channels or ways of offering and carrying out its services: online, in person, on-site, mobile, etc.
Each service channel has its own operational and economic conditions and its own specific working tools. In a digital system, it should be possible to establish different costs and prices for a service depending on the way in which it is provided or the channel used to provide it.
1.3. Single information repository.
It is necessary to implement an omnichannel operation that ensures continuity in the provision of the service (continuity of care) regardless of the channel. To this end, it is necessary for all channels to share the same information to ensure continuity of care.
2. Integration with insurance company portals and online commerce (Marketplace).
New digital providers must develop systems designed for integration with their corporate customers. These customers range from insurance companies to online service portals or marketplaces. Since they are selling services and not products, digital processes must be implemented for the sale and subsequent implementation of the service, in its three basic phases: execution, monitoring and reporting.
2.1. Stages of this digitisation process
At least three main stages must be considered in this digitization process:
A. Application for service. It includes:
- Information about the service (associated contents)
- The professional’s file (professional’s profile)
- Online contracting with online appointment
- If payment for the service is required (payment gateway and/or authorization process).
B. Delivery of the service (online or face-to-face), if it is online, capacities must be available both for the diagnosis and execution of the service (video-consultation) and for the prescription of other services and/or treatments (prescription repository).
C. Digital report of the services performed (digital CMBD of the assistance) and invoicing and settlement of the same when applicable.
To implement these functionalities, the provider must have a Web Services platform and integration capabilities with the different systems of its corporate customers. This implies integration with the Private Areas of end customers, corporate customers and suppliers.
In this context, special attention needs to be paid to the identification or login processes that sometimes make access difficult for end users. It is essential to guarantee access security by avoiding complicated or redundant registration and identification processes. Unification and single sign-on should be a priority, without forgetting the security strength of certificates and identifiers.
2.2. Basic functionalities of the service platform
The basic functionalities involved in the service delivery platform would be:
A. Application/presentation of the service (Marketplace).
a. Semantic search engine.
b. Online citation.
c. Specific service portfolio by channel or service point.
d. Content manager associated with the service.
e. Improved record of the centre/professional.
f. Payment gateway/external authorising centre.
g. Real-time information on service status (e.g. online emergency waiting time).
h. User ratings.
B. Carrying out the service.
a. Videoconsultation/chat
b. Prescription of tests/treatments/Electronic Prescription Card
c. Referral to other services
d. Online monitoring
C. Report service information.
a. CMBD for Customer Personal History.
b. Prescription Record (repository)
c. Settlement/billing information
d. Service evaluation.
3. Digital provider networks.
When we talk about professional networks, whether in the health sector or in any other sector, most of the time such a network is a mere list of these professionals together with a scale or tariff, indicating fixed or maximum prices for the users of such a network.
This concept is redefined in the digital world.
The new digital networks of service providers have the following characteristics:
- Professionals share the same corporate culture and procedures.
- Clients and providers are integrated in a single platform or integrated through web services.
- Clients and professionals are connected from the moment they request and accept the service.
- The professional reports online on the status of the service.
- The network shares information about the services and their providers.
- In addition, users rate and share their assessment of the services received.
It seems that in the coming years or even months a good number of portals and apps will emerge from financially strong companies that will make additional services of a different nature available to their large portfolios of customers. These additional services will not necessarily be related to their core business, but will seek to provide a much more global and horizontal service to these customers. Clearly, these services will be delivered through its web/app (Marketplace).
The need for networks of digital service providers that can be integrated into these online businesses will be a real opportunity and, at the moment, there is very little truly digital supply.
