Due to COVID-19, payers (aka health insurance companies) have tried to find ways to increase access to virtual care, digital health programs, and enhance patient engagement and education. One of the interesting outcomes with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, is that despite a decrease in digital health adoption rate pre-covid, virtual health adoption rates increased during Covid with telemedicine companies like Amwell reporting 2000% increase in telemedicine visits.¹ And by the middle of 2020, investments in digital health reached $5.4 billion.² By 2025, global digital health market is expected to reach over $500 billion and over $800 billion by 2030.³ Yes, the market opportunity looks very promising and you have a great startup idea, a riveting personal story about how you want to change healthcare, and you may even have impressive technology. But there’s already a proliferation of 300,000+ digital health startups in the market and all of them more or less have a similar pitch. So how are you going to make your startup stand out from the noise and become the next Teledoc, Livongo, or Oscar Health?
I’ve evaluated numerous digital health startups for work and have advised aspiring and early-stage digital health startup founders through my professional network. One of the most common oversights that I have seen many founders make, especially the ones with little or no healthcare experience, is a lack of understanding of the healthcare ecosystem, product-market fit, care continuum, and…