Kry, a Swedish digital health platform, made headlines in 2019 when it launched its video-call-a-doctor service. As the company gradually expands across Europe it’s worth delving into the key challenges and opportunities.
This article will explain how Kry tailored its platform to meet user needs, highlighting the legal and data privacy issues and government support initiatives it had to consider when launching the service. It will also assess the future outlook of the digital healthcare industry and conclude with some observations on why launching a successful video-call-a-doctor service requires an agile approach and deep understanding of user needs.
Kry bags $66M to launch its video-call-a-doctor service in more European markets
Kry, a Swedish health-tech startup, recently announced plans to launch its video-call-a-doctor service in more European markets, bolstered by a $66M investment. While the service carries enormous potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery, there are several challenges that the company must navigate to launch and scale a successful service.
This article will explore the potential obstacles for Kry as it seeks to expand its video-call-a-doctor service.
Regulatory Challenges
Regulatory challenges are a major hurdle for any company looking to bring digital healthcare solutions to the market. There is an ever-growing patchwork quilt of international, federal, and state laws governing how medical care is provided. Many of these regulations apply to telemedicine services, which can create a difficult environment for launching a video-call-a-doctor service.
These complexities vary widely by country, as well as by local or regional laws and policies. On the international level, health data must often be stored securely and comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA. Additionally, licenses are needed to operate in certain countries to provide care both physically and remotely.
In many countries regulatory requirements for the practice of telemedicine differ from those for the practice of medicine overall – many more rules may need to be considered before beginning operations locally or regionally. Requirements could include but are not limited to restrictions on which data types can be collected during virtual appointments, what type of patient information can be shared among doctors without compromising privacy rights, or patient consenting preferences for participating in video visits rather than an office visit. Furthermore many states also have their specific policies around areas such as insurance coverage when treating remotely and prescribing medications over video calls.
It is also important that each provider offering medical advice via Kry’s service be licensed appropriately about their specialty area. Without proper licensing it would be illegal (and even dangerous) to provide treatment through a video visit platform! Therefore companies like Kry must stay up-to-date regarding all relevant laws at the national and local levels before launching their services. Hence, they understand how they must act within each jurisdiction they plan on operating in.
Data Privacy Challenges
As with any business that collects, stores, accesses and utilizes personally identifiable data, Kry faces the challenge of protecting this data from unauthorized access or use. Kry must follow local regulations for collecting and storing personal information, such as user information collected through the video-call-a-doctor service. In certain jurisdictions, such as Europe, personal data is subject to an incredibly strict set of regulations with serious penalties imposed on those who fail to comply.
Kry must ensure that the security measures they employ are sufficient to maintain user privacy and prevent misuse of the collected data. Additional steps may need to be taken regarding doctor-patient conversations via the service — ensuring that only authorized personnel access transcripts or recordings of conversations between doctors and patients – and cutting off access when a conversation is complete to protect patient confidentiality.
Kry will also likely have to implement a system whereby users can easily delete their accounts, while still preserving required opt-in information provided during signup. Hence, they maintain regulatory compliance when deleting such account details from their systems.
Technical Challenges
Technical challenges are among the most significant obstacles facing the launch of a video-call-a-doctor service. They include issues related to networking, software development, and data security.
Network infrastructure is a major concern. Video-call-a-doctor services require fast and reliable data transmission networks to ensure a good user experience without lags or dropouts. This requires extensive network planning and infrastructure setup in relevant locations across the globe, preferably of high-speed broadband or 4G networks.
Software development is another big challenge. Developing an intuitive and secure platform that enable easy video consultations between patient and doctor requires considerable expertise, resources, and time from developers. Beyond the platform, software plugins such as voice recognition and AI algorithms must also be developed to streamline the process for both doctor and patient.
Last but not least, considerable effort must be made to ensure high levels of data security consistency with relevant laws for medical records transmited illegally across different countries by internet service providers (ISPs) to be kept safe from malicious actors or cybercriminals breaching them through a range of methods such as phishing emails or data theft malware programs. This can be especially difficult due to differences in regional privacy laws demonstrating yet another technical challenge in the launch of video-call-a-doctor services such as Kry’s service.
Solutions to Overcome the Challenges
Launching a video-call-a-doctor service has many challenges, from ensuring high-quality customer service to selecting the right technology infrastructure and compliance with regulations.
This article will address these challenges and provide solutions on how to address them to ensure a successful launch of the service.
Regulatory Solutions
Kry’s video-call-a-doctor service is a unique offering not subject to traditional regulatory environments. In the US and other countries, healthcare delivery systems, websites and apps are subject to regulation by state agencies or local health authorities. However, Kry’s offering is enabling people to access healthcare services in a convenient and accessible manner.
To mitigate potential risks arising from regulatory issues, Kry must take measures to ensure compliance with relevant regulations as well as build effective partnerships with stakeholders and health industry leaders to ensure its platform meets necessary standards for quality and safety. It will also be important for Kry to obtain industry certifications that demonstrate the credibility of its product offerings.
Some specific steps Kry may take include:
- Establishing partnerships with healthcare professionals, insurers and regulators
- Ensuring compliance with insurance regulations related to telehealth services
- Strengthening security of stored digital medical data by HIPAA regulations
- Developing content focused on patient education around specific conditions
- Obtaining certifications such as ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (Information Security)
- Utilizing open-source code repositories or free software providers that are compliant with relevant laws
- Creating strategies for monitoring platforms activity or identifying fraudulent activity
- Developing clear guidelines for physicians who wish to offer services through the platform
Data Privacy Solutions
Data privacy is one of the primary challenges when launching a video-call-a-doctor service, as it is critical to ensure that patient data is stored securely and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. To overcome this challenge, there are several data privacy solutions available.
One option is to use a secure cloud computing platform to store patient information, such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. These platforms provide both HIPAA compliance and robust security measures which protect the privacy of patients’ data. Additionally, a business associate agreement could be implemented between Kry and the relevant healthcare providers to ensure that all PHI (Protected Health Information) is handled by regulatory requirements.
Other solutions include encryption technologies such as inline encryptors or dissociated encryption techniques which help protect patient information while still allowing access to authorized personnel. Lastly, web filtering technologies can block access to malicious websites or content that might compromise patient data. By leveraging these tools and techniques, Kry can ensure that its video-call-a-doctor service remains secure and compliant with industry regulations.
Technical Solutions
To successfully launch the Kry video-call-a-doctor service, technical challenges must be overcome. These challenges include ensuring the security and reliability of healthcare data transmitted via the platform, providing high-quality audio and video connections and adapting during scale times. To address these issues, a combination of hardware, software and human elements need to be considered.
Hardware solutions include fast connections with low latency to provide reliable audio and video transmission quality between doctor and patient. A backend server setup should also be used to support data storage encryption, as well as secure communication protocols for transmitting medical records.
Software solutions can include a range of strategies such as allowing for real-time synchronization of medical records during calls, incorporating AI technologies for patient symptom assessment or recognizing humanoid motion patterns during exams using machine vision algorithms. Security protocols should also be leveraged to ensure the safety of transferred data on the platform, including authentication methods such as two-factor authentication (2FA).
Finally, experienced IT personnel should be employed by Kry to provide technical support throughout all stages of development from testing through production deployment. Additionally, qualified personnel should monitor system performance 24/7 to handle unexpected scale events quickly and effectively.
Conclusion
Since launching in 2018, Kry has experienced significant growth globally, providing a safe and secure video-call-a-doctor service for individuals from all walks of life. Despite its successes, the company has faced several challenges leading up to its establishment including the development of streamlined back-end technology and the optimizing of user experience.
However, by deploying well thought out strategies and utilizing high quality tools and resources, Kry overcame these challenges. Through its impressive customer base, dedicated team members, strategic partnerships and passion for innovation, Kry stands strong as it begins a new chapter in medical tech history.
As such, it shows us how innovation can help break through traditional commitments to existing practices while offering users access to much needed healthcare services regardless of their location.
tags = closed a $66 million Series B, funding round led by Index Ventures, swedish telehealth startup, sweden kry 262m series cpp investmentslomastechcrunch, kry 262m series cpp investmentslomastechcrunch, new funding will be put towards market expansion, expand its medical offering to be able to offer more services via the remote consultations
