Top 9 Channels to Find a Service Provider in the Global Digital Health Market

Outsourcing is used often by digital health companies. Companies leverage 9 channels to find third-party service providers, yet, for many, it takes a month or more to find one. A new channel offered by R2GConnect provides access to a pool of service providers and start-up requests in digital health.

According to the global survey results (n=293) in “Digital Health Startups: Outsourcing Needs” by Research2Guidance, the companies and start-ups in digital health have a diverse array of needs across technical, business, service provision, and legal & regulatory areas. It is also evident that outsourcing to external service providers is also a common choice by over 90% of the digital health stakeholders over the last 2 years.

But how exactly do the digital health companies navigate in the service providers ecosystem, and how long does it take them to find the right outsourcing partner?

The majority of digital health solution providers (68%) rely heavily on Referrals as their go-to approach for finding service providers, according to the survey. However, this method is challenging for digital health startups as it largely hinges on the strength and outreach of one’s network in the specific areas of need.

Together with referrals, Social Media (47%) and Online Search (35%) form the top three methods to find service providers in the digital health market. Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Google Search could offer access to a vast pool of professionals, however sifting through numerous profiles and assessing their expertise are also time-consuming.

Moreover, a significant portion of survey participants (32%) turn to Startup Communities and Conferences within the digital health sector to find service providers for outsourcing. However, the efficacy of this approach very much depends on encounters and networking opportunities, which do not always yield the expected results in return for the invested time and money.

Additionally, 28% of the digital health stakeholders still make use of the Online Marketplaces such as UpWork – which are not specific to digital health market – to connect with the service providers.

Other approaches used by digital health companies to find external service providers include utilizing Start-up Service Platforms (23%), Software and Developer Platforms (16%), and Job Portals (5%).

51% Spend A Month or More to Find a Service Provider for Outsourcing in Digital Health

Despite the multitude of avenues available for finding service providers in the digital health market, the survey participants still underscore the time-intensive nature of the process.

While 40% of respondents are able to connect with a third-party provider within a week or less, a significant portion—51%—spend a month or more on their search.

While the split in time-spent on the service provider search can be attributed to the diverse nature of the approaches used, or the complexity of the outsourcing needs, one fact remains that the digital health companies must be ready to invest a considerable amount of time for that.

Spending an extended period of time for searching for a third-party service provider, as a result, will increase costs for digital health companies, disrupt the momentum of projects, delay timelines, and decrease the chances of closing outsourcing deals.

To ease up this process, R2GConnect platform introduces its newest service for digital health companies and service providers alike. Start-ups can now publish “Help Requests” for any support they need on the platform, and access to a diverse pool of service providers instantly.

Service providers can respond or invite digital health start-ups to their “Deals” (special offers) and generate leads with access to 8,000+ digital health companies on R2GConnect.

To learn more about R2GConnect’s new service offerings “Help Requests” & “Deals”, please book a demo session here: https://www.r2gconnect.com/r2g-demo-booking