With more than $30 billion In the last three quarters of 2021, there has been an explosive growth of major digital health participants and newer and more professional health technology providers. The widespread acceptance and urgent need of telemedicine during the pandemic provides an opportunity for new and old digital health companies to reach a large number of new and non-traditional customers across the country. However, with all these growth and changes, integration is becoming a major business trend.
Our experience with the national health system tells us that integration works Reducing competition and triggering price increases In traditional medical institutions. Digital health, with its many expansions and service expansions, is likely to follow the same path-eventually diluting or wasting the potential of this key media for the healthcare industry.
Some prominent figures in the digital health field have announced major acquisitions or mergers. Telemedicine giant Teladoc get The equally important Livongo was sold for $18.5 billion in cash and stock. Ro, a direct-to-consumer healthcare company, Buy Modern Fertility, a birth planning startup, has a price of more than $225 million.Yiyi Announce Acquired Iora Health for $2.1 billion, the company mainly provides services for medical insurance patients.
Unless we are careful, digital health will follow the same path as us Traditional health system The eager competition to promote integration has misplaced incentives. Vertical integration tends to trap people in narrow networks, which have fewer choices and higher prices. The industry should not focus on integration, but should consider adopting new technologies and scalable strategies to obtain diversified choices in front of all consumers through the long-tail market model. There, through personalized demand and choice-oriented competition, we will see the true potential of digital health to grow, diversify, and meet the needs of patients while reducing costs.
The agnostic long-tail market, which connects a large number of individuals with hard-to-find or personalized goods and services, is a market that provides patients with a more concentrated experience, enabling them to understand all the choices while leaving room for real choices to compete ——Excellent companies will be promoted based on the results of patients. In recent years, we have seen the impact of competition in the health insurance market under the Affordable Care Act.More competition in this area is good for the U.S. Provide a wider variety of planning options at a lower cost, A crucial factor for access to affordable health care.
A suitable long-tail market platform has the potential to bring all the different digital health companies, even traditional medical institutions, to one place where every patient can see all the options available to them-no matter how niche the service is. After all, everyone’s health experience is unique. As a result of this level playing field, patients will benefit from the highest quality of care, which allows small, quality-oriented companies to shine, rather than hiding in the shadow of oversized competitors. In addition, the use of the combined power of the large patient population in the market inevitably reduces costs because individual patients will clarify their needs and preferences.
Finally, personal health issues, resources, and knowledge in the field of medical care vary greatly. The closed, vertical system based on “swallowing” limits the choices of patients and ultimately cannot meet everyone’s needs. patience They are looking for transparent care options that will enable them to make cost-effective health decisions. A market where real competition can flourish—not a narrow digital health giant—provides a real opportunity to turn this vision into reality.
