606 - Consumer Engagement Done Right: Designing Digital Health Experiences With Consumers

Why It Matters

Embedding authentic consumer engagement transforms digital health solutions from speculative ideas into validated, patient‑centered products, driving better outcomes and investor confidence.

Key Takeaways

• True consumer engagement requires partnership, not just one‑way surveys.
• Map entire patient journey to identify high‑impact digital interventions.
• Use a simple framework: Listen, Define, Co‑create with lived‑experience users.
• Validate problems with focus groups then scale to larger evidence base.
• Embed engagement as a core capability, not a budget‑add‑on.

Summary

The Talking Health Tech podcast episode dives deep into consumer engagement for digital health, featuring Shelley Thompson, co‑founder of Patient Experience Agency. Thompson explains that genuine engagement goes beyond informing patients—it means partnering with them throughout design, implementation, and evaluation to shape services that truly meet their needs. Key insights include the importance of viewing the patient journey holistically, using human‑centered design tools like journey mapping, and recognizing a maturity spectrum where organizations evolve from one‑way surveys to continuous co‑creation. Thompson outlines a practical "Listen, Define, Co‑create" framework and stresses recruiting participants with relevant lived experience, not generic consumers. She highlights the double‑diamond methodology—deeply understanding the problem before proposing solutions—and cites common barriers: uncertainty about where to start, perceived time costs, fear of criticism, and the tendency to treat engagement as a budget add‑on. Real‑world examples, such as small focus groups expanding to larger validation studies, illustrate how to build an evidence base that convinces clinicians and investors alike. The takeaway for health‑tech firms is clear: embed consumer engagement as a core capability. Doing so reduces the risk of solving the wrong problem, accelerates adoption, and strengthens pitches to investors by grounding product claims in robust patient‑derived data.

Original Description

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Shelley Thomson, Co-Founder and Director of the Patient Experience Agency and host of the Consumer Health Partnerships podcast.

They explore what genuine consumer engagement looks like in healthcare and digital health, why it is often missing, and how organisations can move beyond basic feedback towards meaningful, ongoing partnerships with patients and consumers.

The conversation unpacks the gap between how healthcare is designed and how it is actually experienced, highlighting how patients move across multiple services and touchpoints while systems often remain siloed.

Peter and Shelley discuss why many digital health solutions still miss the mark by focusing on workflows and technology rather than lived experience, and why honest, open feedback is both essential and difficult to capture in practice.

They also examine the difference between consultative feedback and true collaboration, and why engagement must be continuous rather than treated as a one-off activity.

This episode offers a grounded look at how healthcare organisations can build consumer engagement as a core capability, creating more connected, effective care that better reflects what matters most to the people it serves.

Key Takeaways

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Consumer engagement is about genuine partnership, not just surveys or one-off feedback.

🧭 Building organisational capability is needed—consumer engagement is an ongoing practice, not an add-on.

🌏 Digital health solutions often focus on workflows or tech and miss the lived experience of patients.

🔑 Honest feedback requires safe environments for open conversations with all stakeholders.

🗺️ Patient journey mapping helps identify real issues that sit between services, not just within them.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction

01:12 - Shelley Thomson’s background & role

02:21 - Defining consumer engagement

04:02 - Why it’s often missing

06:16 - Measuring what “good” engagement is

09:30 - Recruiting the right people

13:12 - Common challenges in engagement

18:05 - How to start: practical strategies

19:59 - Real-world example: dementia journey

22:35 - About Consumer Health Partnerships podcast

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

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