For startups and investors aiming to bring health technology to underserved populations, evidence of impact should be everything: It’s what shows employers and payers a new offering is worth paying for, and what can help convince patients to give it a try.
But while the market is crowded with companies claiming their products meaningfully improve health — especially for underserved groups — there is still no industry-wide standard slate of metrics to fully evaluate them. Some are reporting how many new appointments they’ve created among lower income or underrepresented populations; others are coming up with new ways to approximate how their app or wearable specifically helped rural and urban patients with chronic conditions, for instance.
