The Expert Discussions at the Impact Investing Action Conference on November 11th, 2021 were the conclusion of a series of Roundtables starting in August, 2021 to explore five major societal challenges. Together we explored the major issues relating to these topics and isolated concrete challenges and promising pathways to address them. In the coming months we will be engaging with innovators and entrepreneurs to winnow through a wide range of possible solutions and determine those most deserving of our expert and investment support.
Bridging the Digital divide: De-risking the adoption of digital solutions in Healthcare.
The healthcare sector is perpetually 10 years (or more) behind most other industries when it comes to adopting digital solutions. We need to reduce the friction and risk of embracing new solutions or we will be forever trapped with an inefficient and overly bureaucratic Health Care Industry. The range of digital solutions are as varied as healthcare itself. After much discussion, we decided our focus should be separated in two paths:
- Solution selection criteria:
- Need: Does the product meet an acknowledged high priority need?
- Ease: Does the product fit into or improve existing workflows without additional adoption costs in time or capital?
- Data: Does the company have sufficient data to prove the solution provides real measurable benefits?
- Payment: The buyer needs direct incentive. Is there a clear pathway to reimbursement via insurance codes or internal efficiency?
- Innovation focus criteria:
- Bridging Solutions: Companies which help bridge the gaps between existing structures
- Patient Enablement: Giving patients greater control and transparency in their care
- Wellness Engagement: Using the omnipresent digital devices in our lives to provide better preventative care
- Doctor Empowerment: Reverse the trend of the past 20 years and use digital solutions to allow doctors to spend more time with the patient and less with the computer.
- Provider Burnout
- Lack of Proof
- System Integration
- Cost of Adoption
- Payer Buy-in
- Interoperability: Inefficient data transfer or connectivity between networks
- Lack of Evidence: Unclear performance metrics on which to depend in an industry defined by evidence based decision-making
- Bureaucracy: Opaque decision making processes
- Payer Models: Inadequate price signals to incentivize payers to adopt best-practice solutions
- Burnout: Variety of solutions, innovation paralysis, pandemic overhang, physician resistance
