Healthcare’s Path to Digital Maturity & Embracing Innovation

The global healthcare market is undergoing a surge of innovation. However, when compared to consumer-facing industries like entertainment, banking and utilities - where significant investments in digital engagement have been made - healthcare has one of the lowest rates of digital consumer adoption. 

“This isn’t due to a lack of innovation or reluctance to prioritise digital consumer engagement,” explains Michael Scholz, VP of Product & Customer Marketing at commercetools. “Instead, many healthcare organisations are held back by legacy technology systems that are only now beginning to communicate with each other, which has negatively impacted their progress toward digital maturity.”

With two decades of experience in retail and software at some of the biggest brands like SAP, and countless years consulting Fortune 50 companies like Ford, Michael Scholz knows a few things about unified commerce strategies. He joined commercetools as VP of Product & Customer Marketing in June 2021, when the company was experiencing a tremendous period of growth, onboarding over 120 new customers. Today, commercetools is an established global company, working primarily in the Americas, EMEA, and ANZ to help organisations deliver unique commerce experiences.

We spoke with Michael to explore the healthcare market and how providers can re-energise their offerings to customers and B2B buyers by adopting the latest and most innovative digital commerce technologies. 

Operational roadblocks for healthcare organisations and commerce opportunities

Digital commerce in the healthcare industry faces significant challenges due to strict regulations. For example, the checkout process can be particularly complex as it requires determining product eligibility based on a customer’s subscription and location. Additionally, the available payment methods, such as FSA/HSA accounts and co-payments with insurance, further complicate the process. Having said that, the healthcare industry is primed for digital adoption, but to keep pace with other sectors and meet evolving consumer expectations, it needs the right technology. 

“This technology should offer the flexibility to engage with customers wherever they are - whether online, in a medical office, or at a practice - while also providing a seamless experience across different fulfilment options,” says Michael. 

Healthcare consumers are seeking better and simpler buying experiences across categories, and healthcare is no exception. 

“These evolving expectations offer significant opportunities for healthcare organisations to adopt digital commerce and engage with patients in ways that enhance consumer loyalty and drive financial results,” he continues. “Let’s look at the influence of ‘Big Tech,’ which is undeniable. Last year, Amazon made headway into the UK, signing a deal with the NHS to provide health advice via Alexa.”

This allows the tech company to use the data generated from patient voice enquiries to develop its products, but of course, it keeps its data anonymised. 

“Google and Apple jumped on the bandwagon too, making significant strides with wearable technologies like fitness trackers and wellness applications that provide users with real-time health information. AI is making a big mark with AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants revolutionising healthcare customer service across the UK, helping patients schedule appointments and source information.”

It's evident that digital commerce is a big catalyst in meeting these dynamic consumer expectations in the UK and Michael expects that trend to continue. 

The healthcare industry’s regulatory landscape is a big roadblock. Healthcare organisations must ensure that all stakeholders, like patients, payers and suppliers, are part of an efficient and flexible system. 

“Because we’re talking about sensitive patient data here, these must be carefully handled and stored, so everyone needs to follow stringent European and UK data protection standards, regulations and certifications,” he continues. “Moreover, today’s D2C market means more customers and support for multiple brands, channels, stores and business lines, which any healthcare provider can tell you is no easy feat. This is why digitisation is crucial in healthcare today.”

Any digital commerce solution must counter these roadblocks by ensuring compliance with regulations and industry-leading security for sensitive data from the get-go. 

“At the same time, it should also help create modern and unique customer experiences, improve revenue opportunities, and enhance efficiency through automation and system integrations for enhanced interoperability.”

How healthcare organisations can leverage composable commerce to enhance their operational efficiency and customer experience

Michael has been working hard to ensure healthcare organisations can build on these capabilities, on top of their composable commerce offering. 

“Just a few months ago, we introduced HIPAA compliance, which enables the secure processing of Protected Health Information (PHI) in the US market. That’s the first composable commerce solution that securely processes PHI under a BAA framework, allowing healthcare and life sciences companies to sell online in the US,” Michael continues. “Similar regulations exist in other European markets, such as France, where we’ve integrated HDS into our solution to ensure compliance and security with local data regulations.”

One example is Vision Healthcare, a consumer healthcare platform with over 75 brands and 5,000 SKUs across 44 different markets. The company faced a tough market challenge – specifically in scaling and handling order volume across its in-house platform. 

“We were able to unify its tech stack across all of its brands using composable technology and scale operations across markets, reduce IT maintenance costs and strain on resources and implement new customer experiences like a loyalty programme and 16 new websites.”

Business leaders should take advantage of the innovation gap in today’s healthcare market in the UK and capitalise on opportunities to invest in new technologies, Michael advises, as the days of “build it yourself” solutions are firmly over. 

“Yesterday’s patients are today’s customers and they’re expecting you to keep up pace with the industry and offer solutions that enable positive experiences,” he explains. “From SaaS and low-code/no-code, to AI, whatever the solution, it must be easy to use, integrate into other existing platforms and seamlessly function across all infrastructures.”

However, addressing these drivers and embracing digital isn’t easy in a field as highly regulated as healthcare. 

“New technologies like composable can cross over these roadblocks and enable faster innovation across the entire value chain, allowing businesses to concentrate on growth without the complications of dealing with complex infrastructure.” 

Clearly, the UK healthcare industry is poised for digital innovation; it’s just waiting for its leaders to take action now.

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