By Trevor van Mierlo
Most of us know the story of the model T – but what is often overlooked is how it applies to other industries, especially digital health. Let’s visit again:
Custom cars were built in the early 1900s. You would meet a consultant, design the car, place your order and wait for months for delivery. After your car was delivered, it was difficult to operate. Many owners hired drivers because cars at that time at that time, constant maintenance and a bit of strength requirements (power steering would not arrive for decades).
Then the Model T came in 1908, which led to Ford developing his assembly line in 1913. He acknowledged a problem in the industry and saw an opportunity. He saw the chance for scale:
- Standardization: ‘Any color, as long as it is black‘
- Mass production = affordability: The prices fell to $ 300 within a decade of $ 850 in 1908
- Accessible ownership: Everyone could walk In a Ford dealer and motive road
From August 2000 there is an advanced digital health program on the right side of the image above. I know well-because I helped build it. Since then I have worked on more than 100 digital health interventions. Probably closer to 200. Here is the thing: what’s in it has not changed much. Behavioral science does not move so quickly (Although my recent work in AI changes that).
And yes – digital interventions look better, are easier to navigate and coding languages have evolved – but practically digital health is still building adapted cars – no model Ts. That is why tens of millions cannot open a browser and get the help they need.
What blocks the T -moment model of Digital Health?
1. Enterprise Sales (dead by Pipeline): Most digital health tools are sold through Enterprise channels: RFPs, purchasing departments, tenders, security assessments and legal teams. The average sales cycle is 6-18 months. That is fine for a $ 5 million contract, but it is deadly for a $ 50,000 contract. The problem is not the product – it’s the process.
2. The Vanishing champion: I have experienced this dozens of times and I have taken a deep breath to see it unfolding on webinars: a digital health company Demost their solution alongside a customer champion. Priorities shift. The champion leaves. The reference project dies. Most contracts are not lost in merit – they are lost salesmanship.
3. Prices for health care ≠ Software prices: Most patient -oriented tools are priced such as services, no products. That is a symptom of the fall of business sales. Sellers charge annual costs, regardless of use. Customers expect Handhold for these custom products. Prices must reflect modern SaaS models, freemium, layered access, invoicing per user.
4. Static products in a dynamic world: Consumer software is updated weekly – sometimes daily. Digital health tools? They launch and store then. Feedback klussen are weak. There is no culture of iteration and no expectation of continuous improvement.
5. Nobody has been marketed for the user: The best designed tools fail when nobody uses them. Lack of involvement is a systemic problemYet many programs are launched without onboarding plans, E -mail campaigns or even written content for Tap or Instagram. Users do not know what the tool is, why they have gained access, how they have access to it or how it fits in their care. That is not a product problem – it is a marketing error.
We have to build the systems, not just the tool
Henry Ford did not invent the car, but he was remembered because he has built a system. He looked beyond the engine, the chassis and the tires. He focused on standardization” divisionAnd access.
Digital health needs the same thing. At present, too many solutions are being caught in a loop-up size for small populations, sold through business channels, without a realistic path to scale.
The good news? We are close by
Cloud infrastructure, AI and behavioral intelligent platforms are finally overtaking. We can now personalize on a scale, launch immediately, follow the involvement in real time and quickly itteren. But to get there, we have to tailor the Mindset conveyor belt. That is not a compromise in quality – it is an obligation to reach.
- We no longer need pilots – we need platforms.
- We no longer need tailor -made builds – we need a scale.
Digital health has no technology Problem – it has one Delivery problem.
Until we achieve that, we just make nicer carriages – while the world is waiting for his model T.
Dr. Trevor van Mierlo has built mental health and patient support products for more than two decades and is the CEO of Evolution Health
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