Digital health for leading retailer

A leading retailer had decided to enter the healthcare space, with a focus on in-person clinics and other physical assets. The Client’s innovation group sought support to develop and prioritize complementary digital offerings.

Background

• Client was a leader in traditional retail, but struggled to keep up with online pioneers

• Client relied on traditional, physical footprint and capabilities to enter healthcare, but knew a digital offering was required to provide a full solution

• Innovation group was tasked with incubating digital health offering, and required consulting support from digital health experts

Client request

• Validate Client’s hypothesis that it should offer an umbrella app to integrate with best of breed solutions and connect with customers’ health profiles

• Identify additional opportunities consistent with Client’s entry into health

Key issues for consulting team to address

• Healthcare environment

  • Impact of changes to payer and provider structure, technology, workforce, payment model

  • Issues specific to Client’s customer population, e.g., geography, health conditions, finances, current use patterns

• Digital health ecosystem

  • Definition of relevant categories

  • Identification of leading and emerging players by segment

  • Intersection of digital health, bricks and mortar, and devices

  • Lessons learned from previous successes and failures

• Competitive landscape

  • Strategic intent and activity of major traditional, online, and hybrid competitors

  • Best practices of emerging innovators

Health Business Group approach

• Health Business Group leveraged its existing knowledge base, Client information, and external data to compile a robust set of information, challenge the hypotheses, and devise new solutions.

• Secondary data sources included the HBG knowledge base, market research and analyst reports, government statistics, trade journals, company websites, blogs and other Internet resources.

• Primary sources included interviews with Client’s own benefits and wellness staff, industry participants (e.g., digital health companies, competitors, experts, policymakers), product demos, and attendance and networking at health-IT conferences, trade shows and webinars.

• Devised three novel concepts, and created interactive, multimedia demonstrations to illustrate how the concepts could be implanted

• Developed a short presentation for the Client’s board, which had little healthcare experience

Outcomes

• Develop three innovative business concepts that meshed with Client’s overall healthcare strategy and leveraged its strengths

• Built a robust fact base that persuaded Client to deviate from its original, sub-optimal plan

• Provided follow-on support to identify and introduce appropriate partners for one of the concepts, and to develop an incubation plan for a second concept