By TREVOR VAN MIERLO
Most of us know the story of the Mannequin T – however what’s typically missed is the way it applies to different industries, particularly digital well being. Let’s revisit:
Within the early 1900s automobiles have been {custom} constructed. You’d meet with a marketing consultant, design the automotive, place your order, and await months for supply. As soon as your automotive was delivered, it was tough to function. Many homeowners employed chauffeurs as a result of on the time, automobiles required technical know-how, fixed upkeep, and a good bit of power (energy steering wouldn’t arrive for many years).
Then got here the Mannequin T in 1908, which led to Ford creating his meeting line in 1913. He acknowledged an issue within the business and noticed a chance. He noticed the chance for scale:
- Standardization: “Any colour, so long as it’s black“
- Mass manufacturing = affordability: Costs dropped from $850 in 1908 to $300 inside a decade
- Accessible possession: anybody might stroll right into a Ford dealership and drive away
On the proper aspect of the above picture is a cutting-edge digital well being program from August 2000. I do know it effectively – as a result of I helped construct it. Since then, I’ve labored on effectively over 100 digital well being interventions. In all probability nearer to 200. Right here’s the factor: what’s inside hasn’t modified very a lot. Behavioral science doesn’t transfer that rapidly (although my recent work in AI is changing that).
And sure – digital interventions look higher, are simpler to navigate, and coding languages have developed – however virtually, digital well being remains to be constructing {custom} automobiles – not Mannequin Ts. That’s why tens of hundreds of thousands can’t open a browser and get the assistance they want.
What’s Blocking Digital Well being’s Mannequin T Second?
1. Enterprise Gross sales (Loss of life by Pipeline): Most digital well being instruments are bought by way of enterprise channels: RFPs, procurement departments, tenders, safety critiques, and authorized groups. The common gross sales cycle is 6-18 months. That’s advantageous for a $5M contract, nevertheless it’s deadly for a $50,000 contract. The issue isn’t the product – it’s the method.
2. The Vanishing Champion: I’ve skilled this dozens of instances, and I’ve taken deep breaths watching it unfold on webinars: a digital well being firm demos their answer alongside a consumer champion. Priorities shift. The champion leaves. The reference challenge dies. Most contracts aren’t misplaced on benefit – they’re misplaced to turnover.
3. Healthcare Pricing ≠ Software program Pricing: Most patient-facing instruments are priced like companies, not merchandise. That’s a symptom of the enterprise gross sales entice. Distributors cost annual charges no matter utilization. Shoppers anticipate hand-holding for these {custom} merchandise. Pricing must replicate trendy SaaS fashions – freemium, tiered entry, per-user billing.
4. Static Merchandise in a Dynamic World: Shopper software program updates weekly – typically every day. Digital well being instruments? They launch, then stall. Suggestions loops are weak. There’s no tradition of iteration, and no expectation of steady enchancment.
5. No one Markets to the Consumer: The most effective-designed instruments fail if nobody makes use of them. Lack of engagement is a systemic issue, but many applications are launched with out onboarding plans, e mail campaigns, and even prewritten content material for TikTok or Instagram. Customers don’t know what the software is, why they acquired entry to it, how they entry it, or the way it matches into their care. That’s not a product situation – it’s a advertising failure.
We Have to Construct the Techniques, Not Simply the Instrument
Henry Ford didn’t invent the auto, however he’s remembered as a result of he constructed a system. He regarded past the engine, the chassis, and the tires. He targeted on standardization, distribution, and entry.
Digital well being wants the identical. Proper now, too many options are trapped in a loop – custom-built for small populations, bought by way of enterprise channels, with no reasonable path to scale.
The Good Information? We’re Shut
Cloud infrastructure, AI, and behaviorally clever platforms are lastly catching up. We will now personalize at scale, launch immediately, monitor engagement in actual time, and iterate quick. However to get there, now we have to let go of the custom-built carriage mindset and embrace the meeting line. That’s not a compromise in high quality – it’s a dedication to achieve.
- We don’t want extra pilots – we’d like platforms.
- We don’t want extra bespoke builds – we’d like scale.
Digital well being doesn’t have a expertise drawback – it has a supply drawback.
Till we obtain that, we’re simply making nicer carriages – whereas the world waits for its Mannequin T.
Dr. Trevor van Mierlo has constructed psychological well being and affected person assist merchandise for greater than twenty years and is the CEO of Evolution Health
