The Digital Health Tipping Point report released in December 2023 by Panda Health provides key insights into the value that healthcare leaders see in digital health technologies. The report’s findings give a clear indication where investments are likely going to be made and where they may be scaled back.

In other words, the report shows which digital health technologies have tipped into the “must-have” category.

To get the inside scoop on the report, Healthcare IT Today sat down with Ryan Bengtson, President and COO at Panda Health. We had three key questions for him:

1. What is the top “must-have” technology?
2. What is technology is at the bottom of the priority list?
3. Why is hospital-at-home not higher on the list of perceived value when there has been so much hype around it?

Adoption of Patient Self-Scheduling Will Double

Patient self-scheduling solutions topped the list of most “in-demand” technologies – expected to grow from 34% adoption to 75% by the end of 2024.

“This is one of the solutions that encapsulates why we called the report ‘The Tipping Point’,” stated Bengtson. “It has a high return-on-investment with the labor savings and increase in productivity. The technology also has many proof points and clear demonstrated value. It has reached the tipping point.”

Bengtson pointed out that patient self-scheduling is still far from a plug-and-play solution, but even though it takes work to implement, providers are willing to make the investment because of the benefits.

Chatbot ROI is Unclear

Despite their prevalence, the report shows that healthcare leaders do not see a clear return on investment (ROI) on website chatbots:

• 34% of leaders felt the value of chatbots was overstated
• 41% of leaders did not know if chatbots were providing a positive ROI
• 59% of leaders were neutral or dissatisfied with their chatbot solutions

Bengtson believes that the challenge lies in the lack of quantifiable impact this technology has on hard-dollar metrics like labor savings and revenue.

Hospital-at-Home Is Out of Reach

While the report shows hospital leaders see promise in remote patient monitoring (RPM), adoption of hospital-at-home programs is a low priority.

“Hospital-at-home is far more complex compared to RPM,” said Bengtson. “There are not enough proof points and the up front costs to implement hospital-at-home are beyond the reach of current budgets. Most of the health systems we have spoken with, have started small pilots in order to get the proof points they need before scaling up their program.”

It is clear from the report and from Bengtson that healthcare leaders are seeking value from their digital health investments. When the ROI is proven and tangible, leaders are indicating a willingness to prioritize and invest in the technology.

Watch the interview with Ryan Bengtson to learn:

• Why healthcare leaders need to do a bit of homework
• How leaders can avoid buyer’s remorse
• What digital health vendors need to do to attract the attention of healthcare leaders

Learn more about Panda Health at https://panda.health/

Download the Digital Health Tipping Point Report at https://panda.health/news/the-digital-health-tipping-point/

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