Digital Health: 80% of Swiss policyholders would be willing to share their data with health insurers

The consulting firm Accenture took the pulse of the topic of "digital health" and surveyed both industry experts and consumers. The results showed that industry experts invest the most in customer portals, mobile apps (e.g. mobile health coaches) and platforms.

Digital Health: Challenges in many areas

In connection with these topics, however, the study reveals that there are still many challenges and broader issues, such as:

Strategy & Differentiation

• What are the goals to be achieved with Digital Health?
• What partnerships are needed to realize the goals?
• How can we differentiate our digital health offering from our competitors?

Skills & Organization

• Which competencies need to be available/built up internally or supplemented via external partners?
• Where and how should we build our digital health competencies in our organization?

Service Portfolio Scope

• Do we have a clear/coherent overall strategy for our (planned) digital health service portfolio (e.g., where do we use in-house developments, where third-party platforms)?
• What is the exact scope/offerings of the respective portals, apps, etc.?

Finance

• Who covers the costs of platform operation, customer acquisition, and incentivizing customers and service providers?

Further, Digital Health executives are addressing issues such as the impact of the Metaverse on the insurance industry, the potential of a national health cloud, and effective digital patient management.

Great willingness for digital health solutions among Swiss policyholders

On the consumer side, 70% already see added value in digital health solutions. Consumers see clear advantages, particularly in the availability of healthcare services, transparency and security in the event of an emergency. In general, trust in digital solutions in the healthcare sector has been increasing for several years. Health insurers should therefore consider how they can best meet the expectations of their customers in this area and what prerequisites (e.g., partnerships, technical foundations) are necessary for this.

A majority of Swiss policyholders also show great interest in the digital management of health data: 57% of the surveyed policyholders are willing to manage their health data digitally - of which 11% already manage their data digitally today. The expectations of the insured are interesting. For example, 42% expect health insurers to take responsibility for data management and provide attractive offers. In addition, 40% believe that the federal government and the cantons should assume responsibility; 37%, in turn, see this task with the medical institutions. Meeting these customer expectations therefore requires an exchange between health insurers, the Confederation and the cantons, and the other players in the healthcare system.

What information is more likely to want to be shared and what is not

The survey also revealed that 80% of consumers are willing to share their health data directly with health insurers. As can be seen from the chart below, this mainly involves medical data on blood group, vaccinations, medications and allergies. However, this willingness to share lifestyle data (e.g., data on fitness, heart rate and sleep patterns) decreases significantly. It has also been shown that consumers expect a specific service in return from their health insurer, e.g. in the form of a reduction in premiums. Health insurers should consider which data-based offers could be attractive to their customers and whether the focus should be more on medically oriented or lifestyle offers.

Finally, the topic of digital support for a self-determined life in old age is also of central importance to consumers: 91% are open to this topic, particularly against the backdrop of demographic developments, rising care costs and the shortage of care staff and homes. 75% of the respondents can imagine using digital solutions for emergencies (e.g., fall detection) for themselves or their relatives. Other needs were expressed in the areas of medical support (e.g., automatic ordering of medication) and support in everyday life (e.g., tele/video communication with medical staff). In view of these customer needs and the current market situation, health insurers but also other players in the healthcare market have numerous opportunities in the areas of partnerships/ecosystems and the launch of independent innovative products.
In light of these findings, Dr. Marcel Thom, Study Leader and Head of Insurance & Digital Health at Accenture Switzerland, says: "Both health insurers and the population have great expectations of digital health. The challenge here is to quickly create solutions that offer clear added value for providers and end users."

Source: Accenture

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/digital-health-80-der-schweizer-versicherten-waeren-bereit-ihre-daten-mit-krankenversicherungen-zu-teilen/