What hurdles await new entrants to the ‘virtual care’ market?
Read the advice from our US expert
Care from anywhere
The idea of conducting healthcare virtually was not on many of our minds just a few years ago. But today, the situation is different. Concepts like telehealth, digital health and remote monitoring are seen all over the healthcare space. And they’re not leaving anytime soon.
Virtual care is poised to become a mainstay
So predicts Arnol Rios, head of business development at Takeoff Point, a Sony unit that provides the mSafety platform in North America. Rios recently published an article in MobiHealthNews, in which he offers advice to companies that are keen to start deploying wearables and other mobile health tools. He says it all started with the COVID-19 crisis. Stimulated by the crisis, mobile health solutions are taking off even faster than previously predicted. “Connected wearable devices enable reliable, cost-effective remote monitoring, which is just what the world needs right now,” says Arnol.
Difficult to implement
But he notes that, despite being more motivated than ever to make mobile health technology available, these companies face a series of hurdles and need to make several important decisions along the way. There are a few key questions that many businesses are facing. Is outsourcing the way to go? How do you ensure your feature set matches your target group? Should you involve a healthcare expert or institution in your project from the start? And if you do, what might they expect in return?
No better time than now
In spite of the challenges, Arnol encourages companies to persevere. “There has never been a better time to invest in mobile health solutions,” he concludes. “The organisations that succeed in bringing new services to market now will enjoy a competitive edge in the post COVID-19 landscape. This is no fad. Virtual care is poised to become a mainstay.
