What is All the Buzz about Direct-to-Consumer Digital Health?
What is Direct to Consumer Digital Health?
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital health is a model of healthcare delivery that uses technology to provide individuals with convenient access to health-related products and services. DTC digital health companies use digital platforms such as websites, mobile apps, and wearable devices to offer various services, including telemedicine consultations, remote monitoring, medication delivery, and wellness coaching. This model aims to empower individuals to take control of their health and well-being while improving access to healthcare, reducing costs, and increasing convenience.
What are the Benefits to Consumers and Health Plans?
DTC digital health offers many benefits to both consumers and health plans, such as:
Better access to care: Individuals can access healthcare services from anywhere, anytime, without visiting a healthcare facility.
Cost savings: DTC digital health services are often less expensive than traditional healthcare services, reducing the financial burden on individuals and health plans.
Increased convenience: DTC digital health services are available 24/7, eliminating the need for individuals to take time off work or travel to a clinic.
Better health outcomes: DTC digital health services can improve health outcomes by facilitating early detection and treatment of health issues, improving medication adherence, and promoting healthy behaviors.
Data-driven decision-making: DTC digital health services generate large amounts of health-related data, which can be used to inform healthcare decision-making and improve population health management.
Who does Direct to Consumer Digital Health?
DTC digital health is a growing industry that includes various companies, from startups to established players. DTC digital health companies are typically technology-driven and focus on improving access to healthcare, enhancing patient experience, and reducing healthcare costs. Companies have sprung up in just the past few years providing meaningful solutions for conditions such as Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Asthma & COPD, Diabetes, Tobacco Cessation, ESRD, Medication Refills, Genomics-based decision-making, body fat composition and weight loss, and hundreds of other solution areas.
How Has Direct-to-Consumer Digital Health Changed Since COVID?
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital health has experienced significant changes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth and other digital health technologies, as people have been forced to seek healthcare services from home due to social distancing measures. DTC digital health companies have played a critical role in providing individuals with access to healthcare services during the pandemic, and the demand for these services has increased significantly.
One of the main changes that DTC digital health has experienced since COVID is the adoption of telehealth. Telehealth allows individuals to consult with healthcare providers remotely, through video or audio calls and has become an essential tool for providing healthcare services during the pandemic. DTC digital health companies have been at the forefront of telehealth adoption, offering various telemedicine services such as virtual consultations, remote monitoring, and digital prescriptions.
Another significant change that DTC digital health has experienced since COVID is the increased demand for remote monitoring services. With many individuals suffering from chronic conditions, remote monitoring has become an essential tool for managing health and preventing hospitalizations during the pandemic. DTC digital health companies have responded to this demand by offering remote monitoring devices, such as blood glucose monitors, blood pressure monitors, and pulse oximeters.
DTC digital health has experienced changes in the way healthcare services are delivered. DTC digital health companies have developed new technologies to enhance the delivery of healthcare services, such as chatbots, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. These technologies have made healthcare services more personalized, convenient, and cost-effective.
What are the Ways Direct to Consumer Digital Health Companies Acquire Patients?
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital health companies acquire patients through various marketing strategies, including:
Search engine optimization (SEO): DTC digital health companies optimize their websites to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which increases their visibility to potential patients. SEO involves using targeted keywords, creating high-quality content, and optimizing website design and architecture to improve search engine rankings.
Social media marketing: DTC digital health companies use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to promote their services and engage with potential patients. Social media marketing involves creating compelling content, running targeted ads, and engaging with followers to build brand awareness and drive traffic to the company's website.
Paid advertising: DTC digital health companies use paid advertising to reach potential patients, such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and display ads. Paid advertising involves bidding on specific keywords or demographics, creating compelling ad copy and visuals, and targeting specific audiences to increase conversions.
Influencer marketing: DTC digital health companies partner with social media influencers or celebrities to promote their services to their followers. Influencer marketing involves identifying relevant influencers, creating sponsored content, and leveraging their followers' trust to increase brand awareness and drive conversions.
Referral programs: DTC digital health companies incentivize existing patients to refer their friends and family to the company's services. Referral programs involve offering discounts, free services, or other incentives to patients who refer new patients to the company.
DTC digital health companies acquire patients through various marketing strategies, including SEO, social media marketing, paid advertising, influencer marketing, and referral programs.
Article Highlights:
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital health provides individuals with convenient access to health-related products and services through technology.
DTC digital health offers benefits to consumers and health plans, such as better access to care, cost savings, convenience, better health outcomes, and data-driven decision-making.
DTC digital health is a growing industry that includes various companies, from startups to established players.
Continuing: The B2C Case Is Stronger Than You Think
“Too many founders think B2C is ‘harder’ because CAC looks scary. But B2B is often death by sales cycle. You can get 100,000 consumers in 3 months with TikTok. Try getting 100 logos in 3 months without paying 10 SDRs.”
— Keith Rabois, Venture Capitalist, Founders Fund
CAC-phobia has misled a generation of founders. While B2C models historically earned a reputation for shallow LTV and volatile revenue, they also offer what B2B rarely can: massive reach, compressed feedback loops, and the ability to build a brand people love.
Rabois argues that when the end user is also the buyer—as in health, productivity, or personal finance—there is no excuse not to pursue consumer growth. You’re not fighting procurement red tape or sales inertia. You’re fighting for attention—and with the right emotional proposition, you can win.
Pitfalls: Why Some Consumer Pivots Fail
“You don’t want to be a ‘B2B startup doing B2C acquisition’. You need to become a consumer company culturally—obsessed with usage, community, and self-serve growth.”
— David Sacks, SaaS GTM Expert & Investor
The graveyard is full of startups that flirted with B2C, blew through their cash, and retreated to enterprise contracts in defeat. The usual reason: lack of LTV durability and poor retention.
Before going consumer, ask:
Does your product deliver ongoing, habitual value?
Do users come back, or just try it once?
Can you drive acquisition through content, virality, or community—not just paid ads?
Sacks underscores that unless you are prepared to build an always-on growth machine—content loops, viral hooks, gamified retention—you’re not building B2C. You’re buying users temporarily. And that’s a short road to zero.
Consumer is King
In the coming decade, the most iconic startups won’t distinguish between B2B and B2C. They’ll build for humans—the individual decision-maker, the passionate advocate, the self-empowered actor—and let the org-level adoption follow.
If your startup is stuck in long sales cycles, low usage, or product-market stagnation, the answer may not be to move upmarket. It may be to go human. Rethink your assumptions. Redesign your UX. Rebuild your brand.
Consumer isn’t a downgrade—it’s a multiplier. But only if you commit fully.
Start with people. Solve their pain. If they love you, the businesses will follow.
