The Business of Digital Health
Full course description
A strong business case is crucial for the implementation and maintenance of digital innovations in health (care). In this course, you are introduced to several important questions that need to be asked and answered from the beginning of a development process, focusing on [1] the product (e.g., What are the specifications of my product?), [2] customers and competitors (e.g., Who will be my customers? What are their values? Who will be my competitors?), and [3] costs and revenues (e.g., What is the budget impact?). The course centers on understanding and generating information that is required to answer these questions and being able to communicate about this (e.g., to relevant stakeholders).
Course objectives
Knowledge and insight
Students acquire knowledge and insight about:
- what perspectives – inside and outside health care –are relevant to the business of digital health (e.g., marketing and communication, finance);
- what a product entails in the context of digital health;
- what the relevant stakeholders and competitors in the business of digital health are, both at national and international level;
- relevant tools to develop a business case (e.g., SWOT analysis, business model canvas);
- the basic elements of cost structures and revenue streams in health care (e.g., budget impact analysis, early health technology assessment).
Application of knowledge and understanding
After this module the students are able to:
- understand information required for a business case and are able to apply it in a business case;
- generate information required for a business case at a basic level;
- apply relevant tools that are useful to develop a business case (e.g., SWOT analysis, business model canvas, budget impact analysis) at a basic level.
Forming opinions
After this module the students can:
- judge the relevance of various sources of information for developing a business case;
- take a stance at the interface between expertise and business;
- value challenges and opportunities in the business of digital health.
Communication
After this module the students can:
- communicate with various stakeholders in the business of digital health;
- convince various stakeholders about the relevance of digital innovations in health;
- communicate formats (e.g., pitch, management summary) that differ from traditional academic formats (e.g., conference presentation, scientific article) and understand the differences between both.
Learning skills
After this module the student have skills to:
- shift perspectives to the point-of-view of different stakeholders in the business of digital health;
- analyse sources of information (e.g., McKinsey or KPMG reports) that differ from traditional academic formats (e.g., scientific articles).