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Strategic Impact of DIY Healthcare

September 16, 2015 // Erik Nelson

Do-it-yourself (DIY) healthcare is exploding. This is due in large part to the ubiquitous use of mobile devices, shifting consumer demands for more cost-effective and convenient solutions, and other technological and diagnostic breakthroughs. These tools allow consumers to assess, diagnose, and treat themselves without ever accessing the traditional healthcare system.

The sheer number of emerging products and services is mind-boggling. Medical devices, home testing and diagnostic products, and online mobile solutions promise to monitor your vital signs, scan for disease, analyze your DNA, crowd-source a diagnosis, and provide on-demand healthcare in your home.

DIY healthcare—like convenience care—is going to disrupt the existing healthcare market. Identifying and responding to these disruptive innovations is critical to the long-term success of every healthcare delivery organization.

Plan for Disruptive Innovations   

Organizations will need to take the following steps to address disruptive innovations:

  1. Identify which DIY innovations are most likely to disrupt the market.
  2. Assess what the specific impact will be to their organization
  3. Determine how the organization is going to respond to the disruptive innovations


The Scanadu Scout is a good example of an emerging innovation that organizations must plan for and react to. The Scanadu Scout is a simple scanning device that promises to capture physiological data by placing it on your forehead. If technology such as this proves disruptive, healthcare delivery organizations will need to address many questions, including the following: 

  • To what extent will this new innovation will be integrated into the patient care process? Are the results reliable? Is this something that the organization will recommend, or just respond to if requested?
  • What is the data integration strategy? Will the data provided be accepted? If so, how will it be captured and used?
  • What current services will be most impacted? Will the volume of onsite diagnostics decline? Will this new innovation prevent patients from accessing primary care? What is the potential financial impact?
  • How will this new service impact providers? How will it impact primary care capacity? Will it play a role in mitigating the impact of projected physician shortages?
  • How does this technology fit into the organization’s future strategy? Does it support the existing population health strategy? Does it enhance the organization’s home-based care capabilities?
  • What is the organization’s business strategy with respect to this innovation? Should the organization limit the relationship to the technology to that of data recipient only? Or does it make sense to explore opportunities for commercializing this technology?

Avoid Future Unwanted Disruptions

Addressing these questions is critical, especially when you consider the impact that DIY healthcare is already having on the industry—and this market is only in its infancy. Consumers have been driving most of the demand so far, and they represent a relatively small portion of overall healthcare spend. If the imminent technological breakthroughs prove as clinically effective and cost-efficient as projected, employers and payers will start covering these products and services. The result: the disruption will magnify. Preparing for these changes now is the key to avoiding unwanted disruptions in the future.