Today ’ s Patient Portals CAN NOT Work: An Inability to Capture Network Value

by Vince Kuraitis JD/MBA and Jody Ranck DrPH Today's patient portals are a mess. The catchphrase "Your mom has 7 portals for 7 providers" sums up patients' frustrations and the resulting tepid utilization of portals. Today's portals CAN NOT capture network value. The first post in this series introduced the platform terminology of single-homing vs. multihoming. Patients strongly would prefer to have as few portals as possible — ideally one, i.e., a single "home". However, patients are forced to subscribe to multiple homes since today's portals are tethered to individual institutions or care providers. In this post, we'll introduce the platform terminology of stand-alone vs. network value. Today's patient portals can provide some stand-alone value, but they provide minimal network value. In the upcoming third post in the series, we'll discuss "friction" in today's portals. In the fourth post, we'll consider some alternatives; while today's portals CAN NOT work as configured, we'll look at some options that could work. Stand-Alone vs. Network Value Value is created in different ways for different offerings. Some offerings provide stand-alone value; others provide value through networks and networked data and activities; some provide a combination of these. Stand-alone value refers to the value provided by an offering that is independent of how the platform is used by others. Network value refers to value created through the activity and usage of others. Network value also ref...
Source: e-CareManagement - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Expertise in Platform Strategy & Business Models EHR patient portal network value stand-alone value Source Type: blogs