Dilemma of smart things

COVID-19 sparked an urgency to deploy new technology quickly—from digital contact tracing that requires people to opt in, to collaboration technologies that allow the new remote workforce to collaborate. To help fight the virus, people are inviting more smart devices into their lives, and many are more willing to share health-related data.¹ The world moved fast to adopt new technology, but weaknesses were soon revealed. For instance, the Zoom platform skyrocketed from 10 million daily meeting participants in December to 300 million by April, but security issues and privacy risks quickly came to light² and the company had to address these immediately.

Furthermore, governing bodies during the pandemic have liberalized restrictions and regulations about who owns the data these products create, making it easier to get products to market. But what happens when we go back to tighter controls?

Pre- and post-COVID questions have emerged about who owns the data. And what happens to consumers’ data when companies and products go bust? Consumers are beginning to understand their data may be sold or monetized by another third party. Today, consumers may own the physical piece of technology, but the business administers the digital side—effectively retaining ownership over part of what makes the product valuable. Consumers are becoming more aware of this relationship, so businesses need to do more to demonstrate how their intentions are aligned with consumers.

New never-ready products require a new deployment method. Even the technology itself will be different a month or two after an organisation deploys it. Therefore, healthcare entities have to build a test and learn capability into the operating structure. Testing and learning poses challenges for healthcare as it is a higher liability industry that commonly seeks to minimize variation within a process. So how do you reconcile the need for higher reliability with test and learn? Reliability is about outcomes and not process. Healthcare organizations will find that their ability to iterate and improve products (and outcomes) over time will continue to grow exponentially as the data they use becomes more granular. With the right data, an organization can create a mirror image—a digital twin—that is testing hypotheticals or simulating scenarios related to never-ready products and sending information back to vendors to continue to improve the solutions. Testing products and services in hypothetical ways will allow the organisation to understand how to maximize the value of the technology and to mitigate risk of deployment in critical areas.

Experience-driven products are redefining the relationship between people and organizations. Healthcare organizations are not only buying physical goods, but also opting into an ongoing partnership with the companies managing those products. This is an important consideration for healthcare organizations increasingly deploying hardware with a service component.

Service consumption models are changing and becoming more circular. Products are no longer static; they are now “living.” So, if you have an old robot and you’re running on an old operating system, it presents a massive security risk. In healthcare, it’s especially important to design technology products and services with trust and extendibility in mind. Think through connected products and ensure the business has a strategy and clear understanding around maintaining the security of any devices they bring into their work environments.

ChristianaCare rolled out a virtual primary care subscription service to monitor and treat patients at home. The service includes ongoing monitoring of those with chronic conditions. Patients can use a portable device to allow providers to check vitals and perform other diagnostics. The organization shifted its use of this service during the pandemic to monitor patients for COVID-19. Healthcare workers check in many times per day with patients to see how their symptoms are progressing. Responses are logged and doctors and nurses monitor these responses 24/7 through a dashboard system. Patients that show signs of decline are scheduled for video visits to determine whether in-person care is needed.³ ChristianaCare has increased its outreach to vulnerable populations by providing devices and broadband data plans so patients can safely receive medical advice about COVID-19 from home.⁴

1 “Consumers Are More Willing to Share Private Data During COVID-19, but Are Wary of Long-Term Ramifications;” eMarketer; April 22, 2020;

2 “Zoom security issues: Zoom buys security company, aims for end-to-end encryption;” cInet; May 8, 2020;

3 “Here's how doctors are monitoring more than 350 Delaware coronavirus patients virtually;” Delaware Online, April 3, 2020; delawareonline.com

4 “ChristianaCare got funding to make telemedicine more accessible to vulnerable communities;” Technical.ly; April 27, 2020;