Kris Bowring, Director of Business Development, Smart Home Business Unit - New Business, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. shares his insights at the Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers. Kris was a member of the Advisory Board and spoke on the "Healthy Living, Connected Devices, and Wearables" panel at the 2014 event.

What is the most important next step for healthcare providers to engage consumers in digital health solutions? 
The digitization of a major industry ecosystem is significant and challenging, specifically as it pertains to the customer experience. Being or becoming customer-centric is incredibly difficult in systems that have developed and evolved under very different business models. One doesn’t simply become customer-centric simply by providing devices or even solutions. Unless the benefits are clear, concise and possibly eliminate steps in the existing value chain.

The healthcare ecosystem is vastly complex from providers, care-givers, payers, insurers, device manufacturers, and life sciences. While this current ecosystem currently serves the consumer and quite well, it may or may not have the customer truly at the center of the ecosystem.

Then there is the ever-present carrot of big data. The gathering of data in the healthcare ecosystem has significant ramifications, specifically if the consumer has ownership and control of their data and the ability of sharing of that data, whether health, fitness, pharma, insurance and who knows. This will definitely improve the care and decision-making and may streamline it, but that data also has significant financial worth and monetization is in play.

Now make a connected home healthcare device. It’s going to be a journey in every part of the value chain.

What will be the biggest impact for consumers as a result of digital health solutions? 
Simplified pathways to their own control through devices, technology and Data.

What will be the biggest driver for digital health market?
Learning from the connected home pitfalls and challenges and putting the customer experience at the heart of the ecosystem. Proper regulatory understanding of all players and proactive influence on the regulatory bodies.