What’s Needed in Digital Health? Integrated Experiences
After advising and working with healthcare and digital health organizations in both the U.S. and Asia, one truth keeps surfacing: No digital health solution can survive without ecosystem alignment.
In Vietnam, post-COVID enthusiasm sparked a surge of digital health startups. However, just a few years later, many have already shut down. The reason? Enthusiasm isn’t enough, and neither is great tech.
To succeed, digital health platforms must be more than standalone apps. They must operate as integrated ecosystems.
In the U.S., we’re now seeing healthcare giants like Amazon, CVS Health, and Optum moving aggressively toward vertical integration—combining primary care, pharmacy, diagnostics, insurance, and logistics. This isn’t just smart business. It’s survival. Consumers want convenience. Clinicians want tools that enhance—not disrupt—their workflow. And payers want measurable improved clinical outcomes and ROI. None of that happens in silos.
In Asia, especially in Vietnam, the case for vertical integration is even more urgent:
Fragmentation is deeper. Public-private care delivery is highly fragmented, digital maturity varies widely, and interoperability is often nonexistent.
Government plays a bigger role. Unlike in the U.S., where private markets dominate, regulatory buy-in and public-private partnerships often determine adoption.
Trust is local. Asian patients tend to trust familiar hospitals and clinicians, not just brand-name platforms.
Moreover, many clinics, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers are still mom-and-pop operations, making integration even harder and more essential.
Winning models must go beyond MVPs (minimal viable products) to create deep alignment across the care journey:
Clinicians who trust and adopt the tools
Hospitals that enable real-world delivery
Pharmacies and labs that close the loop
Insurers who validate and reimburse
Government health ministries that endorse the model
In the U.S., vertical integration is becoming a differentiator. In Asia, it’s a prerequisite. With the right mix of interoperability, local partnerships, and government engagement, Asia has a chance not just to catch up but to leap ahead.
Founders and investors must ask: Can we scale a platform? Yes. But more importantly: Can we plug into an ecosystem that delivers real, repeatable value to every stakeholder quickly?
